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Malaysia Guide
DECEMBER 2016 // 3.95 // UK EDITION // NATGEOTRAVELLER.CO.UK
avours
o
India
Mumbai Goa Jaipur Delhi

So you think you know Indian
food? Tuck into the cuisine of
over a billion people
celand
exploring the remote

West fjords
Texas
Ghost towns, aliens &

the wild frontier
!
WIN
ight
A 12-n
food tour
of India
for two
Would the real
Zanziba
please stand up?
ALSO: ITALY BUENOS AIRES TORONTO FIJI CROATIA PRAGUE MUSCAT INTERRAIL
Milano: Galleria V. Emanuele
DISCOVER a new type of destination.

A resort that would intensify the connection
between the human, nature and architecture.
View of the private courtyard
Photo by Igor Neminov & Artur Nesterenko
VIEW FROM SKY TERRACE
CASAPLUTONIA
is located near
Joshua Tree National Park.
Designed as a self-sustaining off-grid
resort that would preserve its natural
landscapes and provide guests
with a getaway from their intense
metropolitan life.
Photo by Igor Neminov & ArturNesterenko
Architecture & Design by:

Archillusion Design
www.archillusion.com
info@archillusion.com
Archillusion Team Members:
Artur Nesterenko, German Nesterenko,
Igor Neminov, Victoria Litvin, & Aaron Borja
VISIT US ONLINE TO GET ON SPECIAL GUEST LIST AND TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT CASAPLUTONIA RESORT:
CASAPLUTONIA.COM | INFO@CASAPLUTONIA.COM | SOCIAL: @CASAPLUTONIA
December
2016
Contents
FEATURES
114 Fiji
The communities of Fiji stricken
by Cyclone Winston retain a
remarkable spirit
74 Cover story: India

A food journey with the chefs
and foodies who live on the
sprawling subcontinent
102 Zanzibar
The archipelago home to
chaotic Stone Town is Africa
at its most evasive
138 City life: Prague

Its royal good looks prevail, but a
sense of mischief has taken hold
in the Czech capital
Issue 51
90 Texas
Big Bend National Park is
where to experience the famed
pioneering spirit
126 In pictures: Croatia

From Dubrovniks Old City walls
to the rocky islands surrounded
by the azure Adriatic
146 City life: Muscat

A snapshot of classic Arabia,
with imposing forts and a
dramatic mountainous backdrop
Indian street vendor

preparing chapatti
(flat bread), Jaipur,
Rajasthan, India.
IMAGE: Getty
December 2016
December
2016
Contents
162
62
66
SMART TRAVELLER
39 Stay at home
Theres more to Hay-on-Wye than books
TRAVEL TALK
17 Snapshot
Miss Joyce of Grenada Chocolate Company
18 Big picture
Cycling in Jaffna, Sri Lanka
21 Editors picks
These are a few of our favourite things
23 Whats new
Museums and responsible tourism
27 Nightlife
Speakeasies across the globe
28 Do it now
The best triathlons to try
41 The word
Cormorance, by Nick Hayes
44 Events
Travel Geeks and Travel Writing Masterclass
47 Author series
Charles Foster in the Scottish Highlands
48 View from the USA
Aaron Millar on the holiday season
50 Online
Weekly highlights from natgeotraveller.co.uk
INSIDER
31 Food
From bush tucker to fine dining in Nairobi
53 Weekender: Iceland
The desolate hinterlands of the West Fjords
33 On the trail
Running through Melbourne
57 Neighbourhood: Toronto
Diverse, engaging and merging cultures
34 Rooms
Bedding down in and around Seville
62 Eat: Italy
Alpine foods for the appetite and the soul
36 Family
Snow, ski and Santa
66 Sleep: Buenos Aires

Decadent splendour with electric personality
Competition
8
natgeotraveller.co.uk
Win a 12-night culinary trip for two to India, p.43
154 Travel Talk

The experts travel manual
162 Feature: Opera
Bringing out your inner aficionado
168 Feature: Rail
Is Interrail just the ticket?
GET IN TOUCH
176 Subscriptions
Great offers and discounts
177 Inbox
Your letters, emails and tweets
178 Your pictures
This months best travel photos
DON'T MISS
14 Photography Competition
Last chance to enter closing 9 December
152
Reader offers from
CubaTravelNetwork.com
Contributors
Editorial Director: Maria Pieri
Audrey Gillan
I first ate Indian food aged three, albeit at

The Shenaz in Glasgow. I considered myself
a dab hand at curry. Till I went to India.
Spicy? A top chef tutted. Our food isnt
spicy, its spiced. And its more layered,
deep and diverse than I ever knew. INDIA P.74
Aaron Millar
If you were to shake the United States,

and everyone who didnt fit neatly into
society were to slip down, theyd end up in
the borderlands of southwest Texas. Part
Burning Man, part Mad Max, this is one of
the last American wildernesses. TEXAS P.90
Editor: Pat Riddell

Deputy Editor: Helen Warwick
(maternity leave)
Features Editor: Glen Mutel
Assistant Editor:
Stephanie Cavagnaro
Associate Editor: Sarah Barrell
Editorial Assistant:
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Digital Editor: Seamus McDermott
Contributing Editors:
Amelia Duggan, Jo Fletcher-Cross,
Zane Henry, Josephine Price,
Joanna Reeves, Tamsin Wressell
Sub Editors: Hannah Doherty,
Lorraine Grifths, Chris Horton,
Chris Hughes, Peyvand Khorsandi
Project Manager: Natalie Jackson
Group Art Editor: Chris Hudson
Senior Designer:
Lauren Atkinson-Smith
Designers: Daniel Almeroth,
Gabriella Finney, Lauren Gamp,
Danielle Humphrey, Philip Lay
Production Manager:
Daniel Gregory
Production Controllers:
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Lisa Poston, Joanne Roberts,
Anthony Wright
Special Projects Consultant:

Matthew Midworth
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Business Development Team:
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Digital Media Manager:
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Sales and Marketing Manager:
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APL Business Development Team:
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Head of National Geographic
Traveller The Collection:
Danny Pegg
Chief Executive: Anthony Leyens
Managing Director:
Matthew Jackson
Sales Director: Alex Vignali
Sales Administrator:
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Executive Assistant:
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Financial Controller: Ryan McShaw
Credit Manager: Craig Chappell
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Accounts Assistant: Jana Abraham
Head of Billings and Revenue:
Sarah Robinson
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Unit 310, Highgate Studios, 53-79 Highgate Road, London NW5 1TL.
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Kerry van der Jagt
On my first trip to Fiji I didnt venture

beyond the Coral Coast resorts. This time,
I wanted more adventure, more cultural
immersion, more time with locals. A fournight cruise through the remote Yasawa
Islands was just the ticket. FIJI P.114
Chris Leadbeater
I headed to Zanzibar not sure what to

expect. I knew where it was but I wasnt
anticipating the collision of languages,
histories and peoples I found there. Its an
intoxicating corner of Africa that thinks its
in the Middle East. ZANZIBAR P.102
Ben Lerwill
Visiting European capitals over summer is

usually a sure-fire recipe for overcrowded
frustration, but the floating bars and
live music down on Pragues Nplavka
riverfront are easy to love. An evening here
is time well spent. PRAGUE P.138
10
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HIGHLIGHTS
Editors
letter
Photography Magazine
Our free digital-only photography magazine

is available to download on Apple, Android
and Kindle devices. Dont miss out!
ngtr.uk/photo-mag
here are many reasons Indian food has become so

popular in this country, but nowadays chutneys,
kedgeree, and mulligatawny soup are British as far
as most of us are concerned. (Chicken tikka masala was
invented in Glasgow, the story goes.)
The repackaging of an entire subcontinents cuisine into
a simple menu, widely used across the UK is an appetising
proposition. But anything purporting to showcase a
cuisine representing over a billion people is bound to tell
only part of the story. Indeed, over the years, many
regional dishes have been adapted for Western palates.
Which is why you wont find most of the curries on offer
in our restaurants in India at least as we know them.
While food isnt always the focal point of our travels, in
India its often the main attraction. To try to get a taste of
the nations authentic cuisines and culinary experiences for
our cover story this month, we sent Audrey Gillan to India
to sample the regional fare of Delhi, Mumbai and Jaipur,
while Gethin Chamberlain cooks up a Goan feast.
My whirlwind visit to India a decade ago left indelible
food memories the street snacks in Old Delhi; the
simple but incredible Bukhara restaurant in New Delhi;
and my favourite, a biryani eaten on the train back to
Delhi from Agra Ive never tasted anything quite the
same since. And certainly not on a train.
Competitions
A foodie tour to India? A business-class

trip to Malaysia? A top-of-the-range Sony
camera? Our competitions are all online at:
natgeotraveller.co.uk/competitions
Malaysia guide
Our 76-page Malaysia guide comes free with

this months issue 27 wildly varying ways
to see the country.
Instagram
PAT RIDDELL, EDITOR
Join our photographers as they travel the

world and share their spectacular images.
instagram.com/natgeotraveller
@patriddell
@patriddell
AWARD-WINNING NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER

Ecoventura LATA Media Awards 2016: Online Blog Feature of the Year British Travel Awards 2015: Best Consumer Holiday Magazine British Society of Magazine
Editors Awards 2015: Digital Editor of the Year, Consumer (Shortlisted) British Annual Canada Travel Awards 2015: Best Canada Media Coverage Germany Travel
Writers Awards 2015: First Prize British Travel Awards 2014: Best Consumer Holiday Magazine British Society of Magazine Editors Awards 2014: Editor of the
Year, Lifestyle (Shortlisted) British Guild of Travel Writers Awards 2013: Best Overseas Feature British Travel Press Awards 2012: Young Travel Writer of the Year
SEARCH FOR
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Todays transport
Tomorrows
Chief Albert Luthuli, Zulu Tribal Chief 1936-1967 (Durban)
w w w. d ur ba n s a . co m
hotograhy
NOW
O P E N
COMPETITION 2017
in partnership with CEWE Photobook
PRIZE SPONSORS
IMAGE: GETTY
OUR SPONSOR
14
Our annual Photography Competition is now open

Whether youre a professional or an amateur, this is the
competition for you. Simply submit in your preferred
category single-shot, portfolio or video and youll
be in with a chance of winning a commission.
Single-shot: Upload a single shot in one of four
different themes: Action, Nature, People, Urban
The winning prizes

GRAND-PRIZE WINNER
Myanmar
Win a 15-night holiday for two to Myanmar

and experience Rickshaw Travels newest
bite-sized trips, which combine famous
highlights with hidden gems. Enjoy a cuppa
among misty tea hills, explore Bagans
famous temples by bike and experience
rural village life on Inle Lake. The prize
includes international flights, transport,
accommodation with breakfast, and all
excursions. rickshawtravel.co.uk
PORTFOLIO
Iceland
Portfolio: For professional photographers upload

four shots based on the same subject/theme
Join Tatra Photography in its new

travelling hotel, based at the Jkulsrln
Glacier Lagoon, for an Aurora photography
tour. The tutor for this workshop will
be Mark Bauer. The prize includes
return flights, airport transfers and six
nights full-board accommodation,
plus a seven-day photography course.
tatraphotographyworkshop.com
SINGLE-SHOT
4 Manfrotto tripods (one per winner

of Action, Nature, People, Urban)
Featuring twist locks for easy opening and

closure, the Manfrotto 190 Go! is the lightest
and most compact in the 190 range. The 90
column can be easily raised and, with four
leg angles, it enables you to get low down
like no other. RRP: 159.95. manfrotto.co.uk
Video: Send us your YouTube/Vimeo link to an

edited clip thats a maximum of two minutes
VIDEO
Apple iPad Mini 2
32GB tablet with a 7.9-inch screen. RRP: 239.
To enter
natgeotraveller.co.uk/photo-competition-2017
Closing date: 9 December 2016 at 23.59 GMT.
OUR JUDGES
OUR SPONSOR
CEWE Photobook
JAEL
MARSCHNER
Photographer and
former photo editor,
Time Out
MATTY
GRAHAM
Managing editor,
Digital Photo
Magazine
ANDY
GREENHOUSE
Creative director
and co-founder,
Swhype
NEIL
FREEMAN
Photographer and
training manager,
Nikon
A CEWE Photobook is for lifes best moments, bringing

personal photographs and precious memories to life
in a timeless style. Its the perfect way to relive those
special moments and treasure the photos that really
matter. cewe-photobook.co.uk
December 2016
15
R OYA L
AUSTRIAN
EXPERIENCE
F I R S T
K I T Z B H E L
THE REAL ESTATE COMPANY
TOP LOCATIONS. LUXURY LIVING.

FIRSTKITZBUEHEL.COM
EXCLUSIVE MOBILITY
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T +43 5356 666 04 11
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SMART TRAVELLER
SMART TRAVELLER
Whats new // Do it now // Food // On the trail // Rooms // Family // Stay at home // The word
SNAPSHOT
Miss Joyce, Grenada
Meet Miss Joyce, chief cocoa bean quality

controller and production supervisor
at Grenada Chocolate Company in the
northeastern corner of Grenada. This small
cooperative produces organic chocolate from
high-quality Trinitario beans, which originate in
the neighbouring Caribbean island of Trinidad.
I spent a few hours at the factory, learning
about the process and meeting the people
involved. As a parting gift, Edmond, one of the
cooperatives founders, gave me a selection
of their top bars the chocolate served as a
fantastic energy boost when out and about
exploring this serene corner of the Caribbean.
SLAWEK KOZDRAS // PHOTOGRAPHER
slawekkozdras.com
@slawekkozdras
December 2016
17
SMART TRAVELLER
18
SMART TRAVELLER
BIG PICTURE
Sri Lanka
Despite the civil war ending in 2009, Jaffna,

the capital of Sri Lankas Northern Province,
is a long way from being a tourist hotspot
and theres such a mesmerising sense of local
atmosphere and old-world charm. While
nipping around town in a trishaw, the driver
came to a halt for a second and I was able to
capture this natural moment just in time.
ALICE LUKER // PHOTOGRAPHER
styleinsrilanka.com
@styleinsrilanka
December 2016
19
Untouched
Oman.
Photograph courtesy of Gavin Newman
Musandam - awaiting your discovery.

Plunge to the depths of our rich and turquoise waters; scale the heights of our breathtaking mountain
scenery; delight in the warmth of our firmly held traditions. All this and our famous Omani hospitality.
This is the Atana way.
Call +968 2673 0777 or email stay@atanahotels.com
follow us @atanahotels
atanahotels.com
EDITORS' PICKS // SMART TRAVELLER
Editos'
icks
Weve been here and weve
been there, and our team
have found a few things we
thought wed share
PARIS: PUSH THE BUTTON
Paris may do gourmet food on every street

corner, but how about premium meats via a
vending machine?
The Boucherie Basque, in the trendy 11th
arrondissement, now offers everything from
beef carpaccio and shallot-marinated bavette
(steak) to sausages, hams and more,
courtesy of a jolly, red refrigerated
vending machine more reason
than ever to use that Airbnb
kitchen. boucheriebasque.fr
Minidub adventure
You can now explore Cornwall and Devon

from a Minidub a nift y VW campervan
featuring a drop-down double airbed and
inflatable awnings, plus the option for two
extra camp beds. greatlittlebreaks.com
MARIA PIERI // EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
38-45
SARAH BARRELL //
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
The age range of the new young

generation Pacha Group intends to
target with 25 new hotels and spa resorts
by 2025. Expected to open their doors by
2020, the rst six will reect the ethos of
the brand that specialises in hedonistic
superclubs. pacha.com
ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM
Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock et al at Londons Royal Academy of Arts is something

of an unmissable exhibition. Running until 2 January 2017, it aims to re-evaluate this
hugely inuential and radical post-war American movement. royalacademy.org.uk
PAT RIDDELL // EDITOR
GLEN MUTEL //
FEATURES EDITOR
CONSERVATION CONVERSATION
IMAGES: GETTY; STEPHEN BOND; THE POLLOCK-KRASNER

FOUNDATION ARS, NY AND DACS, LONDON 2016
ll we want for

Christmas...
Chocolate Yule log
hotelchocolat.com
MARIA PIERI
A pair of Archie brogues

grenson.com
PAT RIDDELL
Acme ring
anotherfeather.com
STEPHANIE CAVAGNARO
Bottle of Half Hitch Gin

halfhitch.london
TAMSIN WRESSELL
INTERRAILING
Young Europeans
could receive a free
Interrail pass on
their 18th birthday in
the future. The idea
is to give EU citizens
the chance to explore
different cultures,
in a bid to counter
nationalist feelings
across the EU.
But, Brexit means
Brexit British
teens will miss out
if the scheme goes
ahead. Still, nice
idea though.
WHO: TripAdvisors booking company,

Viator, will no longer sell tickets
to attractions that involve physical
contact with captive wild animals or
endangered species.
WHAT: Elephant rides, tiger petting
and swimming with dolphins will all
disappear from the sites listings, plus

a new portal will teach users about
responsible tourism, animal welfare and
worldwide conservation efforts.
WHEN: By early 2017. tripadvisor.com
STEPHANIE CAVAGNARO //
ASSISTANT EDITOR
TAMSIN WRESSELL //
CONTRIBUTING
EDITOR
December 2016
21
WHATS NEW // SMART TRAVELLER
STYLE & DESIGN
New
museums
NEW KID ON
THE BLOCK
Smithsonians latest addition in Washington DC is a museum
dedicated entirely to African American history and culture
A slave ships iron ballast, Chuck Berrys

1973 Cadillac, Harriet Tubmans hymnal
and Muhammad Alis boxing gloves are
all here. At a time when the Black Lives
Matter movement is gripping the US, the
long-awaited National Museum of African
American History and Culture opened its
doors on 24 September.
Dedicated entirely to the black experience
in the US, the $540m (441m) project is 13
years in the making and marks Smithsonians
19th and newest museum. Joining the
ranks of the National Malls mostly chalk
white museums, the bronze three-tiered
Couple outside Anderson Photo Service

c. 1960, by Rev. Henry Clay Anderson
building was designed in the shape of

a Yoruba crown by Tanzanian-born
David Adjaye. Sink below ground to begin
a chronological journey through Africa,
and ascend as a harrowed history of
slavery, segregation and the fight for civil
rights plays out.
The galleries upstairs, meanwhile, focus
on African Americans achievements in fields
such as music, sport, arts and the military.
A number of the 36,000 artefacts on
display are huge: a segregated 1920s railcar;
a watchtower from Angola Prison; slave
cabins from 1853. Its the only museum of
this size dedicated to giving voice to the
struggles and successes of
black Americans and
Due to
its free. nmaahc.si.edu
STEPHANIE CAVAGNARO
height regulations
on the National Mall, the
African American History
and Culture museum plunges
Photography from Making A Way
Out of No Way exhibition
ABOVE: National Museum of African
IMAGES: ALAN KARCHMER/NMAAHC;

JIM WALLACE; GADBOIS PHOTOGRAPHY
American History and Culture
70ft below ground

nearly 60% of the
400,000sq ft building
is subterranean.
Viewing work by E.J.

Hughes at Audain
Art Museum
AUDAIN ART MUSEUM
Designed by Patkau Architects,

the museum is styled for its
natural surroundings: a dark metal
facade blends into the forest;
a pointed roof copes with high
snowfall; and its elevation above
ground allows for ood waters to
pass through. First opened on 10
October in Whistler, Canada, it
houses a permanent collection of
artworks from British Columbia.
audainartmuseum.com
LOUVRE ABU DHABI
After years of postponement,

the Louvre Abu Dhabi, designed
by Jean Nouvel, is set to open
early next year on Saadiyat
Island. From the outside, the
building appears to oat on
water; inside, the steel lattice
roof creates the illusion of
walking through a semi-covered
souk. louvreabudhabi.ae/en
MUSEUM OF IMAGE
AND SOUND
Designed by New York architects

Diller Scodo + Renfro, this
Copacabana Beach-facing
museum in Rio de Janeiro will
celebrate the culture and musical
history of the 2016 Olympics host
city. The buildings key feature is
a vertical walkway folded into the
faade. mis.rj.gov.br
December 2016
23
SMART TRAVELLER // RESPONSIBLE TOURISM
Protecting
THE FUTURE
National Geographic Traveller is an official media partner for this year's

World Responsible Tourism Awards, which recognises some of the handson wildlife experiences that are leading the way in global conservation
Misool Eco Resort, Raja

Ampat, Indonesia
BEST FOR: DIVERS
Sustainability is at the heart of

Misool Eco Resort, whose blue
waters and pristine reefs are
among the worlds best for diving.
Working with local communities
to halt extraction of marine
resources, the resort has
established a 465sq mile Marine
Protected Area. misoolecoresort.com
Bushmans Kloof Wilderness

Reserve & Wellness Resort,
South Africa
BEST FOR: WILDLIFE LOVERS
Visitors to this reserve in the

Cederberg Mountains can
admire ancient rock drawings,
endangered Cape Mountain
zebras and vast expanses of
native fynbos (shrubland). The
reserve is being recognised for its
responsible employment practices.
bushmanskloof.co.za
Reef CI, Belize

BEST FOR: CONSERVATIONISTS
Reef CI aims to reduce the number

of non-native lionfish threatening
the reefs indigenous breeds. By
joining the team in removing these
fish from the waters, visitors help
protect native fish populations and
contribute to education projects
for locals and tourists. reefci.com
Sam Veasna Centre, Cambodia

BEST FOR: BIRDWATCHERS
BEST FOR: MARINE ENTHUSIASTS
A new initiative from the

World Cetacean Alliance
identifies and promotes
whale- and dolphin-watching
sites that put the marine
mammals at the forefront of
their activities. A number of
new Whale Heritage Sites will
be recognised in the coming
years for their endeavours to
protect the animals and their
habitats for future generations.
whaleheritagesites.org
24
CONNOR MCGOVERN
THE AWARDS
The winner of the World Responsible
Tourism Awards sponsored by
Belize will be announced on 8
November at World Travel Market
London and on natgeotraveller.co.uk
responsibletravel.com/awards
@RTAwards #WRTA2016
IMAGES: REEFCI
Whale Heritage Sites,

worldwide
Bengal floricans, giant ibis and

endangered vultures are among the
characters that can be spotted on
Sam Veasnas birdwatching tours. In
return for community development
funds generated by tourism,
locals are fully engaged in
the conservation of these
feathered creatures. samveasna.org
WALKING &
HIKING
A volcanic outcrop in the South Atlantic Ocean, the island of St Helena

is a sub-tropical paradise, with rolling hills and a rugged coastline.
Its diverse landscapes from mist-enshrouded cloud forest to ancient
desert oers everything from gentle ambles to challenging hikes, and
a chance to discover some of its more than 400 unique endemic species.
www.sthelenatourism.com
WHAT'S NEW // SMART TRAVELLER
Speakeasy bars, those bastions of 1930s

cool, are making waves across the globe
n in crowd
WITH
THE
There was a time when new drinking

establishments would announce themselves
in a blaze of neon and publicity. Not anymore.
These days, theyre far more likely to be
hidden behind unassuming doors, their exact
whereabouts known only to select members
of the in-crowd. The speakeasy trend shows
no signs of abating, as bar-owners across the
globe continue to draw inspiration from the
Prohibition era of the 20s and 30s.
Modes of entry grow ever more ingenious:
The Mayor of Scaredy-cat Town in London is
accessed through a fridge; New Yorks PDT is
entered through a phone box in a hot dog joint.
A month-long trip with VeryFirstTo.com
takes in 10 of the best hidden boozers across
the globe, at an eye-watering price of 75,000
per couple. Post-tour, participants are treated
to a stylish bar for their own home courtesy
of furniture and interiors company Timothy
Oulton. Its then up to them where they hide it.
GLEN MUTEL
SECRET ENTRANCES
BLIND BARBER, NEW YORK
This bar is housed in an actual working

barbershop just ask the staff for a
drink and theyll show you the way.
FLASK & THE PRESS, SHANGHAI
The retro-looking Coca-Cola machine at

the back of a Shanghai cafe is actually
the door to a dimly lit speakeasy.
FOXGLOVE, HONG KONG
A bar designed to look like a first-class

airplane cabin is accessed through an
antique umbrella shop.
After hours
Further expansions of the Night Tube and the proposed appointment of a Night Mayor mean a late
night in London may no longer be a nightmare if we follow our European counterparts, that is
Weekend hours
Night Tube services now run on the

Jubilee, Central and Victoria lines,
with the Northern and Piccadilly lines
set to follow suit. But will this help
revitalise the city centre's nightlife?
Night watch
Amid a slew of clubs closing down

due to costs and/or licensing issues,
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is looking
to appoint a Night Czar to ensure
London's success as a 24-hour city.
European model
Amsterdam, Paris and Berlin are among

the cities with Night Mayors. They
have revitalised their nightlife,
supporting rather than clamping
down on after-dark activities.
Vote. Westwood?
Among the candidates for Night Czar

is DJ Tim Westwood, whose 10-point
plan of action includes increasing
police presence and protecting clubs
as essential public services.
December 2016
27
SMART TRAVELLER // DO IT NOW
Tihons
If the Olympic success of the Brownlee brothers left

you feeling inspired, how about going the distance
with one of these stamina-testing challenges
THE ONE FOR...
THE LINGO
Bonk
BONKING SUDDEN FATIGUE AND ENERGY

LOSS IS WHAT JONNY BROWNLEE
EXPERIENCED AT THE TRIATHLON WORLD
SERIES IN MEXICO, CAUSING HIS BROTHER TO
HELP HIM ACROSS THE FINISHING LINE
olphin dive
A TECHNIQUE TO MOVE QUICKLY
THROUGH SHALLOW WATER WITH
First-timers // Ease yourself in gently with

The Dagger, a mini-triathlon involving a 200m
swim, 6.6km cycle and 2.5km run the easiest
of Tri St Lucias races. tristlucia.com
WAVES, SHAVING TIME OFF YOUR

RACE THROUGH THE SEA
Brick
A WORKOUT CONSISTING OF
AT LEAST TWO DISCIPLINES

BACK TO BACK, SUCH AS A
BIKE RIDE IMMEDIATELY
FOLLOWED BY A RUN
Fitness freaks // If youre attempting an

Ironman, do it somewhere scenic... The
epic event is coming to Cascais, Portugal,
in September 2017. ironman.com
rafting
THE PRACTICE OF TUCKING IN BEHIND

SOMEONE ELSE SO THEY TAKE THE
BRUNT OF THE RESISTANCE AND YOU
GET AN EASIER RUN, SWIM OR CYCLE
Couch potatoes // Does exercise bring you out

in a cold sweat? Watch the nal race of the ITU
Triathlon World Cup instead from 4-5 November in
Buenos Aires. realworldholidays.co.uk
All-comers // Head to Tenerife to join all levels of
triathletes, from beginners to the Brownlee brothers,
at what's described as the most modern professional
training centre in Europe. tenerifetoptraining.com
Splits
A RACE'S TOTAL TIME DIVIDED INTO
SMALLER PARTS. AN EVEN SPLIT MEANS

THE SAME PACE WAS KEPT THROUGHOUT.
A NEGATIVE SPLIT MEANS LATER STAGES
WERE FASTER: A GOOD THING!
Alistair
Brownlee
We burn 5,000 calories a

day in training for a triathlon.
Every week, we swim 16 miles
in the pool, cycle 350 miles
over the Dales and run
for up to 80 miles.
GO THE DISTANCE
28
Swim
Cycle
Run
0.93 miles
24.8 miles
6.2 miles
IMAGE: GETTY
THE OLYMPIC TRIATHLON COVERS NEARLY 32 MILES,

COMPARED TO IRONMAN'S WHOPPING 140 MILES
PLANT
YOUR
FLAG
Planting a flag in the wilderness
is a symbol of achievement.
Of course, the meaning of
achievement can vary from
person to person. For some,
climbing Mount Everest is
worth planting a flag, while for
others just getting through a
night in a tent in the backyard
might be worth celebrating.
With Hurtigrutens new

Explorer fleet, you will have
the chance to plant your
personal flag in some of the
most exciting and remote areas
in the world like Antarctica.
This enormous continent of
ice has no permanent human
residents, but is home to
millions of penguins, seals,
whales and seabirds.
Antarctica is different from
anything you have ever
experienced and is the perfect
destination for adventure,
the ideal place to connect
with your inner explorer.
500pp on board spend credit applies to Explorer voyages to Antarctica departing in 2017, booked by 31 December 2016.
Offer can be changed or withdrawn at any time. New bookings only. Full booking terms and conditions are available at www.hurtigruten.co.uk.
Marsel Van Oosten
PLANTFLAGS.COM
BOOK YOUR 2017

EXPLORER VOYAGE TODAY
UP TO 500PP
ONBOARD CREDIT
Book by 31 December 2016
Hurtigruten
In 1911 Roald Amundsen

planted the Norwegian flag
at the South Pole. Now its
time for you to plant yours.
Start planning
now at
Marsel Van Oosten
in Antarctica
JOHANNA DAVIDSSON
is a nurse and a modern
explorer. As part of
Hurtigrutens Plant Your
Flag campaign, she will be
the first Swede to ski solo
to the South Pole without
reinforcements. Johanna
will plant her flag on the
South Pole to inspire
everyday people to connect
with their inner explorer.
PLANTFLAGS.COM
V7545
88888 / 88888
FOOD // SMART TRAVELLER
THE
T
A
Chef's
TA
BLE
Kiran Jethwa,
Channel 4s The
Fearless Chef, reveals
the best eats in and
around his hometown
of Nairobi, from bush
tucker to fine dining
Traditional eats
The classic celebratory meal in

central Kenya would be nyama
choma (barbecued goat), ugali
(white polenta), sukuma wiki
(sauted kale), irio (potato and
pea mash), and githeri (slowstewed red kidney beans). These
are quite simple staples but with
a bit of creativity can be elevated
to a world-class feast. My take
would be a slow-cooked smoked
sirloin of goat, with githeri
tostada, bubble and squeak of
irio and creamed sukuma.
BUSH TUCKER
KIRAN JETHWA
Star of Channel 4s The

Fearless Chef, Extreme Food
and Food Unwrapped, Jethwa
searches the globe for indigenous
ingredients with an extreme twist.
Born in Nairobi, his cooking
style is inuenced by his
English and Indian roots.
kiranjethwa.net
The Giriama people, who live

in the coastal regions of Kenya,
serve the strangest thing Ive
encountered: giant cane rat.
Trapped in maize fields, cane rats
are far from pleasing on the eye
but once skinned and roasted
they are remarkably tasty. My
favourite Kenyan ingredient is our
wild oysters small, gnarly
looking things, but when
you crack them open
they reveal a sweet,
beautiful oyster.
IMAGES: GETTY
In the city
Nairobi is one of Africas most

cosmopolitan cities, as reflected in its
choice of quality restaurants and bars.
The Brew Bistro (thebigfivebreweries.
com), has an excellent micro-brewery
with a creative bar-food menu, and
the Zen Garden (zengarden.co.ke) is
a Thai fusion restaurant that never
disappoints. One of my favourites has
to be the superb Indian grill, Hashmi
(hashmisbbq.com). I opened my fi rst
restaurant, the Seven Seafood & Grill
(experienceseven.com) in Nairobi about
six years ago one of the citys fi rst
modern contemporary restaurants.
December 2016
31
Stuben 14, 6762 Stuben am Arlberg, Austria

info@househannesschneider.at
www.househannesschneider.at
teL +43 5582 703
Yo u r P r i vat e L u x u rY S k i C h a L e t
home of Skiing
ON THE TRAIL // SMART TRAVELLER
Melbourne
RUNNING IN
Theres so much art and culture

tucked away in Melbournes lanes
that its best taken in at speed.
Zane Henry joins a running tour
4 // STATE LIBRARY OF VICTORIA
3 // OLD
A little way along Russell Street lies

Australias oldest public library,
housed in a sprawling Neoclassical
building. It hosts regular
exhibitions, often with a focus on
Australian heritage. slv.vic.gov.au
MELBOURNE GAOL
4
5 // UNION LANE
Staunchly resistant to
gentrification, Union Lane
is bare of coffee chains and
boutique stores. What it does
have is some impressive graffiti,
created by 50 young artists
through a City of Melbourne
mentoring programme in 2007.
A few blocks up, the

old jailhouse dates
back to 1839. The
scene of 133 hangings,
including that of
infamous outlaw
Ned Kelly, its now a
museum and offers
spooky night-time
tours. oldmelbourne
gaol.com.au
2 // CHINATOWN
Slalom between locals and

tourists in colourful Chinatown,
established in 1850. The
neighbourhood features striking
historic buildings, including
the Chinese Mission Church.
chinatownmelbourne.com.au
5
6 // FLINDERS LANE
ILLUSTRATION: TILLY RUNNINGFORCRAYONS.CO.UK
Grab a refreshing
drink from foodie
hotspot Flinders
Lane. From Kappos
Japanese fare to
Fonda Mexicans
kangaroo burritos,
its easy to see why
this has been labelled
Melbournes tastiest
street. kappo.com.au
fondamexican.com
7 // DEGRAVES STREET
Reward yourself with coffee and

doughnuts on Degraves Street, one
of the citys artistic hubs: buskers
perform against graffitied walls,
and the underpass hosts Australias
longest- operating artist-run
initiative, Platform Artist Group.
01 // FEDERATION
SQUARE
6
7
Do your stretches
amid the openair events and tai
chi classes held
in this piazza. The
restaurants and bars
are great, but its the
many art installations
and communal
activities that make
this the heart of the
city. fedsquare.com
Running Tours Melbournes Laneways Discovery Tour runs daily, with weekend
tours from $39 (24) and weekday tours from $69 (43). runningtours.com.au
December 2016
33
SMART TRAVELLER // ROOMS
WHERE TO STAY
SEVILLE
Julia Buckley picks the best places to bed
down in and around the Andalucian capital
1 LA DONAIRA
Ninety minutes south east of Seville, La Donaira is set

on a 620-acre biodynamic farm near Ronda. Restored
to rustic splendour with whitewashed walls and
Moorish artifacts, the farmhouse houses eight suites;
next year, theyll add yurts. From 213 per person
per night. ladonaira.com
2 JUAN & JOSES HOMESTAY
In Sevilles gentrified Macarena district, north of the

city centre is this super-chic homestay Juan and
Jose are the perfect concierges for this trendy area.
From 48 per night. homestay.com
3 DEHESA DE LAS YEGUAS
Get back to nature in these three safari tents, spaced

out over a pine-filled finca in the Parque Natural
Baha de Cdiz. With proper beds, bathrooms and
verandahs, the tents arent short of creature comforts
either. From 105 per night. canopyandstars.co.uk
4 DAR HAJRA
Dar Hajra (House of Rocks) lives up to its name the

boho bolthole for two is built on a limestone outcrop,
with boulders artfully intruding into the interiors.
The infinity plunge pool overlooks the mountainous
Ronda landscape. From 1,001 per week. i-escape.com
34
SMART TRAVELLER // FAMILY
SNOW, SKI &
Santa
Looking for an excuse to take the kids on the slopes this half-term?
Weve picked four great getaways, from a budget option in Les Deux
Alpes to a bust-the-budget break in South Tyrol. Words: Maria Pieri
HIT THE SLOPES

THIS HALF-TERM
(13-17 FEBRUARY 2017)

HAPPY FAMILIES
Happy Families from Butler &

Lloyd aims to make luxury, bespoke
family ski breaks as easy as possible. A new
addition is the Grand Hotel Courmayeur
Mont Blanc, Italy, from 2,300 per person
for a family of four on a half-board basis.
Lift passes and ski/board hire extra.
butlerandlloyd.com
The new RockyPop

Chamonix, in Les Houches,
is a modern take on the traditional
ski hotel. A free shuttle bus runs
to the Chamonix, Brvant Flgre,
Grands Montets and Le Tour ski
areas. Inghams Ski Holidays has
seven nights, half-board from
1,139 each. Lift passes and ski/
board hire extra. inghams.co.uk
LONGING FOR LAPLAND
ALL-INCLUSIVE
An all-inclusive Family
Week at Les Deux Alpes,
France, from 713 per person.
Includes accommodation (varying
from nice youth hostel to basic
hotel) meals, equipment rental, ski
lessons and lift passes. Booked via
Action Outdoors, the UK arm of the
UCPA, a non-profit French sports
specalist. action-outdoors.co.uk
Combine history, culture

and ski by opting for the
iconic Sella Ronda circuit and
the mountain village of Corvara,
in South Tyrol. Ski Solutions
offers seven nights half-board
accommodation at the Hotel La
Perla, from 3,160 per person. Lift
passes and ski/board hire extra.
skisolutions.com
UK appointment with Santa
Lapland UK returns to Whitmoor Forest, Ascot until

24 December. Kids get a personalised invite, plus an
Elf Passport to fill in while they enjoy festive activities
like meeting the huskies and the big guy himself. From
302 for a family of four. laplanduk.co.uk
36
HISTORY & CULTURE
ROME AROUND IN HAMPSHIRE
Celebrate Christmas Roman-style at Butser Ancient

Farm on 16 December with the festival of Saturnalia to
reawaken the Roman god of Saturn. Or opt for Tales
of Winter Magic storytelling around the fire in the
Grand Roundhouse. butserancientfarm.co.uk
FATHER CHRISTMAS MEETS THE BARD
Meet Santa, watch festive plays and carol concerts and

enjoy candlelit tours, craft fairs and markets in Stratfordupon-Avon (26 Nov, 3, 10, 17 Dec). Dont miss the RSCs
The Tempest, concluding the Bards 400th anniversary
year (8 Nov-21 Jan). shakespeares-england.co.uk
IMAGE: OFFICE DU TOURISME VAL DISRE
MODERN TRADITIONAL
HOLIDAYS IN EUROPES
MOST BEAUTIFUL
HIGH MOUNTAIN VALLEY
Apartments
to fall in love with...
Very spacious apartments (55 -75 m)
Wellness with penthouse feeling
O:
MORE INF
w w w. g u t h
o f. c o m
GUTHOF LUTZ
Tirol Austria
6677 Schattwald 28
Phone +43 5675 20702
info@guthof.com
UK // SMART TRAVELLER
Stay a home
HAY-ON-WYE
From secondhand books to rugged peaks and fine dining,

Hay-on-Wye is a picturesque spot for a weekend away
We like
Richard Booths Bookshop

is where it all began, in 1962
where the owners vision to
transform the town into a mecca
for bookworms took shape after
he imported huge quantities
of unwanted US library books.
His fascinating secondhand
bookshop now has a cafe and a
cinema. boothbooks.co.uk
DONT MISS
Climbing Pen y Fan,
the Brecon Beacons
loftiest peak, offers some of
the UKs finest views. Routes
vary from challenging
ridge walks to a gentle,
four-mile circuit.
WHY GO
Books, mainly. The annual Hay

Festival (25 May-4 June 2017)
has cemented the Welsh towns
reputation as the Town of
Books (its also gained fame as
the worlds largest secondhand and antiquarian book
centre), but there are also
numerous quaint cafes and
browse-worthy antique shops,
as well as pubs and cinemas, not
to mention a Norman castle.
Where to eat
IMAGES: GETTY; ALAMY
Nick Brodies beautifully presented

fare at Llangoed Hall is not to
be missed. The emphasis here is
entirely on the quality of the produce
and allowing the extraordinary
flavours to flourish on the plate.
llangoedhall.co.uk/dining
Where to stay
Set in 17 acres of the Wye River Valley, Llangoed

Hall is a sumptuous Edwardian country house,
decked out by owner Bernard Ashley (Laura
Ashleys widower) in period furnishing and
antiques. A fine dining menu draws on local
ingredients, as well produce from the hotels
kitchen garden. llangoedhall.co.uk
WHAT TO DO
The spectacular Brecon Beacons National

Park (taking in the Brecon Beacons
mountains, Black Mountain Range, Fforest
Fawr and Black Mountains) offers a host of
activities everything from caving and
hiking to cycling and mountaineering.
PAT RIDDELL
hay-on-wye.co.uk
breconbeacons.org
December 2016
39
GET INSPIRED!
Book Handpicked Holidays,
Flights & Hotels with PackMyTour
www.packmytour.com
Check correct time to fly | Compare & save on hotels | Book package holidays
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BOOKSHELF // SMART TRAVELLER
Word
The
BIRD ISNT
THE WORD
Visionary graphic novelist Nick Hayes

turns his laser-sharp attention to a
wordless, bird-focused tale
The upcoming master of the long-form
comic turns his lyrical drawings to a simple
tale: the journey of a boy, a girl and their life
of buzzing alarms and city demands. Fear
and oppression permeates the opening
illustrations as the pair wander and strive,
war and weep erratically through an urban
landscape all the while ignoring the rising
and setting of the sun, and the ever-present
chorus of birds. The latter, led by an almost
mythical cormorant, calls them closer to the
natural world, to water and trees and salvation.
Rendered almost completely in tone-on-tone
blues, this is a picture book of an odd and
eerie beauty. Cormorance by Nick Hayes is
published by Jonathan Cape (RRP: 18.99).
THE VEGETARIAN
Three destinations in focus
The 2016 Man Booker

International prize-winning
South Korean novel. A
three-part tale about a
woman who gives up meat
and tears her family apart. By
Han Kang and translated by
Deborah Smith. Portobello
Books (RRP: 7.99).
WHITE MOUNTAIN
Real and imagined journeys

in the Himalayas, by Robert
Twigger, acclaimed author of
Red Nile. A travelogue and
expansive exploration of
these mighty mountains that
follows a meandering and
often mythical path.
Orion (RRP: 20).
FOOTPRINTS IN SPAIN
Ex-pat Simon Courtauld

entwines his forensic
knowledge of Spains
tempestuous history with his
personal experiences. Warm
and witty, the book touches
on British lives in all corners of
the sun-soaked country.
Quartet Books (RRP: 20).
WISE WORDS
The quiz
Think you know your geography? Then test

your map skills at the Royal Geographical
Societys Annual Christmas Quiz (15
December), at its grand HQ in Kensington
Gore, London. Strike out on your own or
bring a team (max ve people). 15. rgs.org
The map
Atlas Obscura: An Explorers Guide to the
Worlds Hidden Wonders is another gloriously
illustrated map compilation book. Follow GPS
co-ordinates to such weird world wonders as a
temple to the souls of insects that died for
science in Tokyo. Workman (RRP: 25).
The podcast
If you didnt catch Richard Herrings recent string

of live shows at Londons Leicester Square Theatre,
then hear the Podfather in action, interviewing
such modern comedy luminaries as Armando Iannucci
and David Baddiel on his most recent podcasts.
richardherring.com
December 2016
41
Win
SPECIAL PROMOTION
WIN A CULINARY TRIP

FOR TWO TO INDIA
National Geographic Traveller (UK) has teamed up with TransIndus
to offer a fantastic 12-night foodie trip for two to India
Prize
Win a 12-night TransIndus

culinary group tour for
two, with chef Amarpal
Harrar, departing 3 March
2017. Includes all ground
arrangements, transfers,
B&B accommodation,
sightseeing with local
guides, monument
entrances, cooking
demonstrations and return
flights from the UK.
EXPERIENCES
Indulge in cooking demonstrations and dining

experiences from Delhi street food to a
langar at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, a daily
meal for 75,000 devotees. Visit local markets
in Old Delhi to shop for spices and, if youre
brave enough, try paan a leaf chewed for its
stimulant and psychoactive effects.
Tour
India is as famous for its

wonderfully rich and diverse
cuisine as it is for its iconic
monuments, traditional way of life
and wildlife. Join us on a trip to the
North, where youll experience
the regions food at its most
authentic, while actively
getting involved.
TO ENTER
Answer the question below by visiting
WHAT CHEF WILL JOIN YOU ON THE TRIP?
Sites
Its not all about the

food youll also visit
some of North Indias top
tourist sites, including
Shimla and the popular
toy train to Kalka, Old
Delhi, the Taj Mahal in
Agra, Jaipurs City Palace
and the Golden Temple in
Amritsar. transindus.com
Competition closes 15 December at 11.59pm

GMT. The winner must be over 18 and the trip
is subject to availability. Full T&Cs available at
December 2016
43
SMART TRAVELLER // EVENTS
Eents
2 0 1 6 / 1 7
TRAVEL WRITING MASTERCLASS

12 JANUARY 2017
London
DECEMBER
TRAVEL GEEKS:
RUSH HOUR
Rail travel
Sponsored by
WHERE:
Tips, advice and expert knowledge this time, our panel

discusses rail travel. Plus, share your thoughts and join in the
discussion with fellow travellers
Wallacespace
Rooftop Kitchen,
Covent Garden, 2 Dryden
Street, London WC2E 9NA
TIME: 18.0019.00
PRICE: 10
includes a drink and
nibbles
Calling all budding travel writers!

The editors of National Geographic
Traveller (UK) return with their
popular Travel Writing Masterclass,
taking an in-depth view of the art
of storytelling and offering tips
and ideas on improving your travel
writing and getting published.
Whether its writing dos and donts,
how to pitch or simply what makes
a good story, the team are ready to
answer all your questions. The panel
includes editorial director Maria
Pieri, editor Pat Riddell, features
editor Glen Mutel and associate
editor Sarah Barrell.
WHERE: Wallacespace Rooftop
Kitchen, Covent Garden, 2 Dryden
Street, London WC2E 9NA
TIME: 18:3022:00
PRICE: 75
Ever thought about travelling the world by rail? Think it sounds

terrific but dont know how to go about it? Our expert panel will
put you on the right tracks, discussing everything from journey
times to breath-taking routes and what to do if youre a first-timer.
Travel Geeks: Rush Hour is just an hour long and offers you the chance to
hear from our experts, enjoy a drink and join in the lively debate. Moderated
by Glen Mutel, National Geographic Travellers features editor.
THE PANEL
During her 10 years as

media relations manager
at voyages-sncf.com,
Amanda has travelled
Spain, France, Germany,
the Netherlands and
Belgium by train.
GARY FRANKLIN
Gary has been with

Belmond since 1995, and
is now at the helm of
one of the most unique
and diverse international
collections of luxury
trains and cruises.
DANIEL ELKAN
Ski, travel, environmental

and science journalist
Daniel is founder
of SnowCarbon, an
independent guide to
travelling to ski resorts
by train.
TOM KITT
As a GCO (travel
consultant) for G
Adventures, Toms most
recent trip was riding
the Trans-Mongolian
railway from Moscow
to Beijing.
NATGEOTRAVELLER.CO.UK/EVENTS
44
COMING SOON
2-5 FEBRUARY 2017
Destinations: The Holiday &

Travel Show, Olympia, London
The team from National Geographic

Traveller (UK) will be exhibiting at
Destinations: The Holiday & Travel
Show this upcoming February. Come
say hello, chat to our experts and
check out all the latest magazine
offers. destinationsshow.com
IMAGES: GETTY; iSTOCK PHOTO
AMANDA MONROE
Reykjavk
Edinburgh
London
Bristol
Montral
Toronto
Boston
Washington, D.C.
New York
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Miami
WOW
Stopover
in Iceland
A WOW stopover gives you time to visit Iceland on your way to
our destinations in USA and Canada. Its almost like getting two
vacations for the price of one. Now thats wow!
Check it out at
www.wowair.co.uk
SMART TRAVELLER
NOTES FROM AN AUTHOR // CHARLES FOSTER
THE HIGHLANDS
A relationship with stags changes from bloodthirsty to empathetic,
while their Highland home remains imperiously aloof
ILLUSTRATION: JACQUI OAKLEY
he Highlands begin at Euston

station. When youre hunched over
your microwaved haggis in the
Caledonian sleeper, I suppose youll be
breathing kidnapped Scottish air from the
dying snorts of red deer, brought rattlingly
down via Crewe, recycled through the lungs
of passengers tweedy, paunchy gunmen
and slight, Gor-Texed first-ascenters with
karabiners clinking in their backpacks.
I always meet someone I know or half-know
on that train, and theyre always off on slightly
dubious adventures. John Buchan types, alive
and scribbling their stories; though hed give
a Presbyterian frown at the gently libidinous
glances that start if youre still drinking at
Carlisle. The restaurant car is where coups
start. Its because northwest Scotland is
lawless. Of course, there are rules and roads
and policemen and courts, but no one can
stop the water racing off the hill down the
route it wants to take, and no one can stop a
mountain rolling off and crushing you. Water
and rock are the real legislators here. Thats
why you come, or why you stay at home.
You wake up to something new. Its not just
new to you; its new to itself. The raindrops on
the carriage window have never before had
exactly that pattern. The blades of marram
grass on the moor you see through the rain
have never before had exactly the orientation
to each other and to the grazing sheep they
have on this grey, ecstatic morning. Yes, the
same point can be made about the grass on
the verges as you head along the M25, but here
even I, woozy on Laphroaig, cant miss the
point. The land is strident. Theres possibility
here, as there never is in London, Salcombe
or Tuscany. And in that bigoted sentence,
you see something important: the Highlands
are confident, aristocratic and thrive on the
denigration of lesser places. Theyre bigger,
wetter, more dangerous and they dont need
you. Its exhilarating to be not needed.
For years, I went heavily armed to the
Highlands to stalk red deer. Id be met at Fort
William by a thin, laconic man in a battered
Land Rover and driven to a drafty lodge full
of animal parts, and men whod done things
behind enemy lines, and their wives backs.
When Id had a cold bath in the brown, peaty
water that coughed out of the taps, Id shoulder
Having a gun taught me how

scent oozes out the earth,
surges up the sides of the
glen in the heat and retreats
when the sun falls, bounces
off stone buttresses, ricochets
around a glen like a ball in
a pinball machine, and is
bundled up like dirty washing
and sent to the Uists
my rifle and walk to the range. There the

stalker would see if I could put three rounds
of .308 ammunition within two inches of each
other at 200 yards. If I failed, Id be on the night
train back to London. Mercifully (perhaps
Im not quite sure) that never happened.
So I went out on the hill, and killed too
many stags. Im now very ashamed of it.
Stags have to be killed, but not by me.
I dont want to do it any more. It wasnt
sacramental, as any killing should be.
The queasy regret I felt each time wasnt
atonement enough. The killing should
be done by wolves. Ive sold my guns and
subscribed to a veggie box delivery scheme.
Yet, shameful though they were, those
times taught me a lot. A man with a gun has
a connection with his prey and with the land
that a man with binoculars can never have.
It taught me how scent oozes out the earth,
surges up the sides of the glen in the heat and
retreats when the sun falls, bounces off stone
buttresses, ricochets around a glen like a ball
in a pinball machine, and is bundled up like
dirty washing and sent to the Uists.
It made me wonder. I normally strode
colonially through the world, six feet above
the ground, feeling the ground through
thick soles. I wrote about it, but my writing
was a description not of the world, but of my
thoughts about it; tediously self-referential.
I had at least five senses, but used only one:
vision a lens that distorted my perception of
the glens. What a waste. I said I loved the hills,
but I couldnt say my love was well founded.
What did I really know about them? Wouldnt
it be useful, or at least fun, to try to see the
Highlands as the deer saw them? They knew
the land so much more intimately than I did.
The deer became my teachers and guides,
rather than my prey. Scotland is now a very
different place far more throbbing with
colour, mystery and possibility than Id
ever imagined when I used to climb on the
Caledonian sleeper in the bad old days. And
so, for that matter, is the M25.
Charles Foster is the author of Being a Beast, a lyrical
exploration of living and travelling like an animal,
published by Profile Books. RRP: 8.99 (paperback)
@tweedpipe
charlesfoster.co.uk
December 2016
47
SMART TRAVELLER
VIEW FROM THE USA // AARON MILLAR
EXCESS ALL AREAS
mericans go all out for Christmas.

Every year, one of my neighbours
transforms the actual home they live
in into a life-size copy of a gingerbread house,
complete with giant spinning lollipops,
enormous candy cane arches and an entire
Oompa Loompa scene reenacted on the
lawn. But far from being an object of ridicule,
its revered. Everywhere you look, ordinary
white-picket streets are turned into glitzy
parades of corny ostentation. Its as if the
Munchkins have suddenly decided to start
flipping houses and floated down from Oz to
make a few quid.
But bite your bah humbug in the lip,
because participation is mandatory. A week
before Christmas our house blissfully
unadorned a group of neighbours turned
up at our door: We thought wed see if
you needed help putting up your lights?
The posse had come a-knockin and their
message was clear: every other house on
our street was lit up like an airline landing
strip there were galloping reindeers, icicle
bubble machines and a little mechanical
Jesus that waved as you walked by. Ours was
like Scrooges secret cabin in the woods.
So I did what all real men would do in that
situation: capitulate. Just 24 hours later, Im
up a tree spinning lights and blowing up a
gaudy inflatable Santa. But, hours of knotted
cords and swear words later, my best effort
looked like what would happen if Santa got
sleigh sick. So they dont do this in London,
huh? was the best the mob could manage.
No, is the answer to that. Dont get me
wrong, I love Christmas. Im all for excessive
eating and drinking, I just dont need a
silly hat and a bad jumper to make it OK
less Will Ferrell from Elf, more Billy Bob
Thornton from Bad Santa, if you will. But the
accent does come in handy this time of year:
Oh look, John, he sounds like Oliver Twist!
Actually, I was going for Dick Van Dyke, but
pass the eggnog for Gods sake and help me
ease this pain.
Christmas is only part of it, of course.
In America, the holiday season is a twomonth affair, beginning with Halloween,
followed by Thanksgiving (radical concept:
get nothing, be thankful for what you
already have) and ending with the bells on
48
New Years Eve. And boy does it start with

a bang. Halloween in the US is to its British
counterpart what professional bodybuilding
is to the occasional dabble in the gym: same
premise, far more impressive flex.
And its not all giggles and sweets either.
Every year, Halloween Horror Nights, at
Universal Orlando Resort, creates the kind of
big-budget Hollywood-style haunted houses
or mazes, as theyre called that make
our fairground ghost trains look like mere
Punch & Judy. And theyre genuinely scary. I
spent a night walking through seven of them
and got attacked by The Walking Dead in an
abandoned hospital, assaulted by bikiniclad vampires in the From Dusk Till Dawn
bar and had my dinner served to me on a
cannibal island. It was like being dropped in
a horror movie, except youre the star.
And thats not always a good thing. There
is a moment in scary films when, instead of
running out the door, the teenage girl (because
usually it is) walks upstairs to confront the
serial killer instead. On the last maze, a
recreation of the house from the iconic 70s
slasher flick Halloween (source of many a
personal nightmare), I became that girl: forced
to slide open shower curtains, creep down to
the basement and peer into the pitch-black
garage, as real-life actors in full Michael Myers
suits sprang at me with blood-drenched
butchers knifes. I started full of macho
bravado and ended holding a strangers hands.
But who cares? If youre going to decorate
your house, why not make it visible from
space. If youre going to dress up, why not
let dozens of knife-wielding maniacs scare
you half to death. America has no time for
halfheartedness. Over the Top, here, is a 1980s
Stallone film about arm-wrestling, not a
design flaw. And they may be onto something.
Because, ultimately, Tiny Tim was right and
Ebenezer was wrong; the Munchkins may
have an annoying song, but they throw a good
party. America knows: in holiday spirit, as in
life, you get back what you put in. This year,
Im going all out.
British travel writer Aaron Millar ran away from London
in 2013 and has been hiding out in the Rocky
Mountains of Boulder, Colorado, ever since.
@AaronMWriter
ILLUSTRATION: JACQUI OAKLEY
Holiday season stateside is a super-sized, two-month affair, starting with

Halloween and ending in the New Year. And yes, participation is mandatory
ONLINE
THE BLOG: SENEGAL
AN AFRICAN QUEEN
How do you mingle with royalty in Senegal? Find out
in this highlight from our Tuesday blog
50
VISIT US ONLINE AT
NATGEOTRAVELLER.CO.UK
With daily updates, including

a blog every Tuesday and our
Travel Video of the Week each
Friday, get your fix of National
Geographic Traveller online
ONLINE
IMAGES: GETTY; DANIEL ALLEN
If you take the slow boat ride to the Senegalese village of Sipo,
youll receive a warm, royal welcome. By Daniel Allen
My first breakfast at the Keur Saloum hotel, in the heart of Senegals
Sine Saloum Delta, is turning out to be a mixture of pain au chocolat and
politics. For my Francophone fellow diners, the opportunity to rib a Brit
over Brexit is too good to pass up. Looking out over the nearby mangroves,
I half-heartedly defend perfidious Albion in mangled schoolboy French.
Thankfully, Alain Goetghebeur, the amiable owner of Keur Saloum,
comes to my rescue.
I hope you packed a shirt and tie, says the silver-haired
Belgian with a smile, patting me on the shoulder. Today,
youre going to meet a real African queen.
Lying at the heart of Senegal a stones throw from the
Gambian border the Saloum Delta, a UNESCO World
Heritage Site, is one of West Africas ecological jewels.
Formed where two rivers, the Sine and the Saloum,
converge on the Atlantic, the deltas network of shallow
LIKE THIS? READ MORE
channels, beaches, mangrove swamps and sand islands are
BLOGS ONLINE...
home to an array of wildlife, including monkeys, hyenas and
a huge variety of birds.
MACAU: THE HOUSE OF
Alain, a keen fisherman, who established his hotel before
DANCING WATER
Senegal became a favourite destination for Francophone
Chinas answer to
Europe, doesnt need to be reminded about its attractions.
Las Vegas boasts a
Taking a break from hotel operations, he wants to show me
spectacular water-based
the village of Sipo, a settlement of barely 100 people thats a
show which inspires,
short boat ride away.
wows and baffles in
equal measure
Joined by a couple of Belgian guests, we crowd into one
of the hotels wooden pirogues, and power off up a winding
CHAD: AFRICAN BEAUTY
branch of the Saloum River. Grey pelicans and Goliath herons
The stakes are high and
take to the air as we pass thick mangrove forest, suspended
the roles are reversed at
above the water on a tangle of spindly roots.
this beauty pageant deep
Minutes later, the pirogue is grounded on a beach of fine
in the African bush
white sand. We make our way towards a sprawling collection
of thatched huts, their distinctive conical roofs made from a
LONG ISLAND CITY: OUT
OF THE SHADOW OF
succession of grass skirts. Dogs, donkeys, goats and children
BIG ALLIS
roam sandy streets, or take shelter from the fierce midA New York industrial
morning sun beneath giant baobabs.
enclave noted for
The diminutive, heavily wrinkled Queen of Sipo real
its power plant is
name Fatou Man is waiting for us outside a mud-brick
reinventing itself as a
building in the centre of the village. Dressed in a white
home for microbreweries
headscarf and lime-green blouse, she beckons us forward
and artists
with open arms and twinkling eyes.
The tradition is that she has to kiss every new arrival in
the village, explains Alain. Its a sign of courtesy. Shes not always so
accurate with the kiss, so make sure you turn your face pretty well.
After pecking us all on well-turned cheeks, the queen invites us inside
for a chat. Through Alains translation, we learn that our friendly monarch
has been ruling the village for 85 years. She still assists the village women
with childbirth, but is slowly delegating some responsibilities to her son.
I will stay queen as long as my people need me, says Fatou.
Besides, my son doesnt perform the meeting and greeting with as
much enthusiasm.
Leaving the royal court, we wander down to the beach for a riverside
barbecue of grilled fish and sweet potato. We invite the queen to join us,
but she politely declines.
Maybe it was your informal dress that put her off, says Alain later, with
a wink. I thought you British were sticklers for protocol.
keursaloum.com
ost ead
Follow the Silk Road or soak
up the atmosphere in Fogo
Island here are some of our
most popular online posts
SOUTH AMERICA
Travellers tales
From rare birds on the Galpagos

to the worlds widest single-drop
waterfall in Guyana, our travel
writers reveal what drew them
to South America
UNITED KINGDOM
Stay at home: North Norfolk
Ticked the Broads off your list?

Head to Norfolks north coast
for charm, character and crabbing
TRAVEL TALK
Hot topic: Airbnb vs

Zweckentfremdungsverbot
Airbnb is a great idea thats
become part of the everyday
fabric of travel. But is it running
into trouble with the authorities
in Berlin, Iceland and New York?
CANADA
Go to Fogo
The final resting place for Arctic

icebergs, this atmospheric
Canadian isle has proved the
end of the line for others, too.
But its also a place of re-birth,
caught in the middle of an
unlikely renaissance
DIGITAL NOMAD
Kyrgyzstan: Into
the heartland
Leaving China, our Digital Nomad

makes her way into Kyrgyzstan
and the midpoint on the Silk Road
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December 2016
51
Weekender
WEST FJORDS,
ICELAND
From abandoned fish factories to volcanic beaches, the
hinterlands of the West Fjords are Iceland at its most
desolate. Words: Josephine Price
ay 1
East to Heydalur
to the sea, I feel the benediction was justified.

Afterwards, Heydalur guesthouse owner
Stella joins us for a meal of fresh, fragrant
trout and local beers. I was retired before we
moved here 14 years ago, she explains. This
is a second life for me. The fresh air here is
enough to give anyone a new lease of life.
Later on, after snacking on homemade rye
bread and Cognac-cured Atlantic char, I get
acquainted with some Icelandic horses. Ive
never ridden, but Ive been told riding one
of these beasts is like sitting on a moving
sofa. Soon enough, Ive cantered down the
riverbank and am galloping along a volcanic
sand beach. Pebbles spray up on both sides
and the sun dapples the still water. Theres
kayaking, hiking and fishing on offer here too,
but the road beckons me on.
IMAGES: JOSEPHINE PRICE; HAUKURSIG.COM
As my 4WD tears around another bend on the

road from safjrur Airport, the next fjord
unfurls before me. Moss-cloaked, flat-topped
peaks slide down into the vast expanse of
water, their slopes framing the view.
After an 85-mile drive south east, hugging
the coast of safjrurs fjord to Heydalur
guesthouse, suddenly were off the tarmac
and onto the gravel track to Heydalur, which
announces itself with a scattering of barns,
outhouses and hot pots (geothermic pools).
We stop the car, and within seconds Im
submerged in a boulder-ringed pool my
exposed skin prickling in the cold air, while
the rest of me warms in the geothermic heat.
My pool is said to have been blessed in the
12th century by the bishop Gumundur the
Good, and as I look down the valley all the way
52
ay 2
CLOCKWISE FROM
OPPOSITE PAGE: Looking
Krossneslaug and Djpavk
out to sea, with the

Reykjaneshyrna headland
in the background; hot
pool at Krossnes; horseriding from Heydalur
guesthouse; shlaviti
Lighthouse at Bolungarvik
Locals tell me I can cut an hour off the

journey from Heydalur to the Krossneslaug
hot pool, at Krossnes, by off-roading over
a mountain. Soon, Im gripping the wheel
with white knuckles as we hurtle past the
dead-end sign and onto a narrow, steep
path. Its 124 miles to Krossneslaug, past
rocky outcrops, glacial lakes, the occasional
settlement and driftwood-strewn beaches.
We reach Krossneslaug to find the hot
spring piped into a turquoise pool, metres
from the icy Atlantic, and a warmer hot tub
next door. Im soon alternating between each.
I dont pass a single car on route to
Djpavk, which I reach before nightfall. One
of the remote villages red clapboard houses
is Htel Djpavk, where Im to stay once
workers quarters for a herring factory next
door. Its derelict shell remains but is now a
photography gallery and a small museum,
where the WW2 German submarine engines
that once powered the factory are displayed.
It even hosted a homecoming gig by Sigur
Rs back in 2006. Beyond the window, the
waterfall roars. In the winter, that freezes and
the road closes, he says, pointing out of the
window. You can imagine the silence.
THREE TO TRY
MUSEUM OF ICELANDIC SORCERY &
HVITANES SEAL COLONY,
WITCHCRAFT, HLMAVK
SKTUFJRUR
When the 17th-century European witchhunts reached Iceland, 17 out of the

21 witches executed hailed from the
remote Strandir region home to the
village of Hlmavk and the Museum of
Sorcery & Witchcraft, which tells their
story. galdrasyning.is
Iceland knows how to cater to wildlife

spotters in a lay-by on the west side
of the Sktufjrur fjord sits a plastic
box with binoculars, an honesty box and
a selection of homemade conserves.
Spot seals on the horizon in this shallow
bay near historic Litlibr farmhouse.
SVR MARITIME MUSEUM,

BOLUNGARVK
This collection of turf-and-stone shacks

is a faithfully reconstructed 19th-century
traditional fishing station. Further along
the coast, at Bolungarvik, the neonorange shlaviti Lighthouse provides
an unlikely pop of colour and a great
viewing point. bolungarvik.is
December 2016
53
SMART TRAVELLER // WEEKENDER
Fisherman
food trail
54
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Saedis holding

dried sh; Dynjandi; Htel safjrurs
Restaurant Vi Pollinn
safjrur
Dont treat the capital of the West

Fjords as a mere entry and exit
point. The biggest town in the
region has a dramatic location
on a promontory between two
mountain-crowned fjords that
youll get a birds eye view of as
you come in to land at the airport.
Dine at least once on elegantly
plated catfish at Htel safjrurs
Restaurant Vi Pollinn, and
seafood soups and craft beers
at Hsi restaurant.
isafjordur.is
inspiredbyiceland.com
westfjords.is
ay 3
Suureyri and Dynjandi
Thirty-six hours? I repeat, incredulously.

Yup, Saedis, my Fisherman Food Trail
guide, nods. That, apparently, is how long it
takes the cod, haddock and catfish caught in
Suureyri to reach the markets of London,
Boston and New York.
Ive driven 105 miles west to this tiny
village home to just 270 people to join
its Fisherman Food Trail. Fishing was the
islands main industry; now its tourism, yet
despite its size, Suureyri still deals with up
to 210 tonnes a day. The fishermen make the
short journey out to sea and fi ll their small
boats sustainably with rods and lines.
From here, I continue south, in pursuit
of one of the most eye-catching waterfalls
in a country full of them a behemoth of
a cascade towering over 100 metres high. A
rock staircase leads up to the summit and I
join the climbers armed with tripods to get
a better look. Its 100ft wide at the top but
twice that at the bottom. Its name means the
thunderous one and I imagine it provides an
appropriately dramatic soundtrack at night
for those in the campsite below.
Icelandair (icelandair.co.uk) offers return ights to
Reykjavik from Gatwick from 151. Access the domestic
airport with Flybus (re.is/ybus) from 23. Double
rooms at Guesthouse Heydalur (heydalur.is) from 121;
Hotel Isafjordur (isafjordurhotels.is/torg) from 127;
and Hotel Djupavik (djupavik.com) from 103.
IMAGES: AGUST ATLASON; JOSEPHINE PRICE
Local-born Saedis, a
guide on the Fisherman
Food Trail, stands out
for her purple hair
and matching jacket.
She jokes as she picks
up dried fish and an
ominous-looking
hammer. When you
buy it in the shop itll
already be softened
for you, but up here we
hit it ourselves, she
says, as she bashes the
dried, salted haddock
against a rock
by the pungent
drying shed.
This is our
superfood
its high in
omegas and
protein. Youll
find a hammer
and a rock in
every kitchen.
A RARITY IN A WORLD OF PLENTY
At Toronto, Canadas must-visit attraction, you can feast your

eyes and feed your thrills with amazing views, award-winning
food and North Americas highest outdoor urban adventure.
CNTOWER.CA
SOLD HERE
Neighbourhood
TORONTO
ILLUSTRATION: KERRY HYNDMAN
Toronto doesnt like to brag, yet the modest Canadian city has plenty to shout
about from a culturally diverse neighbourhood thats now a hybrid cuisine
hotspot to an arts hub thats thriving due to dead pigs. Words: David Whitley
When listing the great North American cities, Toronto often falls through the
mental net. It has grown quietly and largely without incident, the epitome of
Canadian niceness. But there are some surprises to be had in a city that fits 2.6
million people in without anyone noticing. A recent study showed Toronto to
have the most diverse population of any city on Earth, and that shows as Greek
areas turn to Chinese then Portuguese, and so on. Theres also an accumulation
of likability, whereby no single neighbourhood totally enraptures, but virtually
all of them are surprisingly engaging. And that accumulation of rather good
ends up outweighing a one-off hit of great.
December 2016
57
NEIGHBOURHOOD
Kensington Market
The story begins in the distinctive, bayand-gable Victorian houses on Kensington

Avenue. They were built in the late
19th century for English and Scottish
immigrants, says Jason Kucherawy, owner
of tour company Toronto Urban Adventures.
So they had sitting rooms or parlours.
The Jewish migrants that arrived later,
however, could see no use for the parlours
in the homes theyd worked hard to afford.
So they turned them into shops, and moved
kitchens upstairs, living apartment-style
above their small businesses.
Then, after World War II, there was an
influx of people from Italy and Portugal.
Toronto wasnt as welcoming then as it is
now, but the landlords didnt care where
people were from as long as they paid the
rent. Kensington Market became the logical
initial settlement point for several more
waves of migrants after that.
Wherever the hotspot in the world was,
the people fleeing it came here, says Jason.
The name is misleading theres no
market. But Kensington Market is full
of small shops, cafes and restaurants,
many of which combine cultures in rather
unexpected ways. On Kensington Avenue,
a case in point is Rasta Pasta, which has
a Jamaican-style oil drum barbecue at
the front but serves up Jamaican-Italian
crossovers such as jerk pork panini.
Elsewhere, there are the likes of Caribbean
Syrian Connection a West Indian juice
bar at the front and Akrams Shoppe behind
it, selling authentic Middle Eastern foods.
Or Hungary Thai Bar & Eatery, where a pad
thai or spring rolls can be followed up with
goulash soup or a schnitzel. Hes Hungarian,
shes Thai, says Jason with a hey, why not?
shrug of the shoulder.
If Kensington Avenue is old school
Kensington Market slightly scuzzier
and occasionally overdosing on the tie-dye
Tibetan dresses Augusta Avenue is the
way it is heading. Its more restaurants than
shops, more artisan baking than existencescraping. But its still independent chains
attempting to encroach quickly get snarled
out of affordable and unashamedly global
Kensington Market.
Jason leads me into El Gordo Fine Foods,
in search of Alfonso Segovia, who set up
a Chilean empanada stall, then expanded
the space into a shabby-but-superb food
court. Alfonso still sells 42 different types of
empanada, with fillings ranging from spinach
and feta to kimchi, but hes now been joined by
Tito Rons, selling Filipino-Caribbean hybrids
including a dessert that the man serving
it likens to the Philippines famously gaudy
halo-halo on steroids. Theres also a churros
bakery and a gazpacho and paella joint.
This, says Jason, is the neighbourhood
where I come to eat.
58
CLOCKWISE: Nightlife
on Queen Street West;
Soma Chocolatemaker;
street musicians,
Kensington Market; Izumi
sakes, Ontario Spring
Water Sake Company
FAR RIGHT: The Montreal
Canadiens versus the
Toronto Maple Leafs at
the Air Canada Centre
NEIGHBOURHOOD
WHEN IN TORONTO
ICE HOCKEY
This is Canada, so if people are

getting excited about sport,
chances are its ice hockey
theyre getting behind. The
Toronto Maple Leafs play at the
Air Canada Centre, Downtown,
near the Hockey Hall of Fame.
mapleleafs.nhl.com hhof.com
JIMMYS
The hip, higher-quality alternative

to Starbucks, or the equally
soul-sapping Canadian chain Tim
Hortons, is local effort Jimmys
Coffee. All coffees are named
after a famous James, Jim or
Jimmy, and staff are encouraged
to hand out freebies.
IMAGES: CANADIAN TOURISM COMMISSION; SOMA CHOCOLATEMAKER; GETTY
Distillery District
From 1877 to 1905, this was the worlds

largest distillery, says Arron Binder of Go
Tours Canada. Whatever replaced it as the
top dog must have been gigantic because
the former Gooderham and Worts distillery
covers several blocks with a remarkably
uniform look: red-brick storage buildings,
bottling plants and distilling rooms are
accompanied by red brick pavements. But
the stench of whisky is long gone.
Booze-making operations closed in 1990,
and for the remainder of the 20th century,
the 13-acre site was used as a location for
hundreds of films and TV shows. Then, after
a multi-million-dollar refit, it reopened
in 2003 as a new neighbourhood. Its a
revitalisation project in the same vein as
Sydneys Darling Harbour or Cape Towns
V&A Waterfront. Massive art installations
turn heads at every junction and the
diverse mix of tenants ranges from a gallery
showcasing the art of native peoples and a
lavishly decorated Mexican restaurant to a
centre for the performing arts and a host of
quirky shops; these include Bergo Designs,
which sells everything from model planes to
spaghetti servers and Smurf chess sets.
Its also become a breeding ground for
experimentation. Arron leads me towards
one of the longer-standing tenants, Soma

Chocolatemaker, where the forceful whiff
of chocolate hits the moment the doors are
opened. At the back, machines are whirring
as staff work on luxurious creations like
Thai Stick and Vietnamese Coffee many
with chocolate sourced from overseas. At
the front, customers mull over which truffle,
cookie, toffee and gelato flavours to sample.
The tasting continues at fellow anchor
tenant, the Mill Street Brewery, which
started with basic lagers and has now
branched off into the wacky world of
tropical fruit-heavy IPAs and bierschnaps
a spirit made from beer. Its a Northern
German thing from around Hannover,
says Arron. But here they can sell it hardly
anywhere outside of the brewery due to
government rules.
Its not the only unusual hard stuff
being made in the Distillery District,
either relative newcomer, the Ontario
Spring Water Sake Company has set up a
sake brewery with a mission to educate.
Terms are explained, the types of rice used
are demonstrated, and the advantages of
serving the beverage cold are spelt out
(served warm, apparently, is often a trick to
disguise the extra brewers alcohol added on
the cheap).
ICE WINE
Canadas prime contribution to

the world of viticulture is ice wine
made from grapes that have
frozen on the vine. Much of it is
grown in nearby Niagara, on the
Lake. Due to the states monopoly
on alcohol sales, youll have to
buy it in a bar or at an LCBO store.
lcbo.com
PORTUGUESE FOOD
Torontos ethnic melange includes

a large Portuguese population.
Little Portugal the western
end of College Street, and a few
blocks south is the best place
to find custard tarts and piri piri
chicken, though.
PATIOS
As soon as the sun comes out,

competition among bars and
restaurants to provide the best
terrace (here, called a patio) heats
up. Theres an extensive list at
patios.blogto.com, but the one at El
Catrin, in the Distillery District, is
darned impressive. elcatrin.ca
December 2016
59
NEIGHBOURHOOD
West Queen West
FROM TOP: Queen Street West; enjoying a cocktail at

The Drake Caf, The Drake Hotel
In a roundabout way, we have dead pigs

to thank for West Queen West becoming
Torontos arts hub. There was an abattoir to
the south, and the wind comes in off the lake
in the afternoon, says Art InSites Betty Ann
Jordan. It brought the stench with it. That,
and the presence of a lunatic asylum and poor
housing stock, kept rents along the western
stretch of Queen Street appealingly cheap.
Times change, though, and now the galleries
are feeling the pinch. The David Kaye Gallery
(ceramics) displays lots of eye-catching works,
but the owner struggles to keep smiling when
the subject of rent comes up.
Galleries are not the only form of artistic
expression in these parts, though. Betty
Ann leads me down Brookfield Street, an
alley where there are extravagantly detailed

murals. The city has embraced street art,
and this is an initiative to encourage people
to go into the alleys. It makes them less
attractive for drug deals too.
On Shaw Street is another initiative, part
of the city-wide Artscape project, where
disused buildings are renovated, then given
over to artists as cheap studios. In this case,
the Shaw Street Public School is now Artscape
Youngplace, with dramatic installations lining
the corridors and staircases and dozens of
creative types doing their thing in the former
classrooms and offices.
A big part of West Queen Wests
resurgence, though, comes from two hotels.
The Gladstone Hotel has kept to its 19th
century roots vintage lift and all while
adding a blizzard of art and a bar where
locals hang out. The Drake Hotel has gone
even further, with commissioned paintings
in the rooms and tongue-in-cheek in-house
postcards quoting negative TripAdvisor
reviews from prudes. It also has a tiny
barbershop and a microstore dedicated to
New Balance trainers across the street.
This freewheeling, make-yourself-standout attitude is evident all along West Queen
West. Shops focus on organic goods, or
cocktail-making supplies while proudly
brandishing Queer Street West rainbow
stickers. And restaurants have the freedom
to plump for bizarre decor The Good
Son serves up the likes of bulgogi short ribs
with kimchi fried rice and quail egg, among
leather couches and walls of antique clocks.
And here, the only dead pigs are on top of the
spicy soppressata wood-fired pizzas.
Toronto Urban Adventures.

torontourbanadventures.com
Rasta Pasta. eatrastapasta.ca
Hungary Thai Bar & Eatery. hungarythai.com
El Gordo Fine Foods. 214 Augusta Avenue.
T: 00 1 416 205 9981.
Go Tours Canada. gotourscanada.com
Bergo Designs. bergodesigns.ca
Soma Chocolatemaker. somachocolate.com
Mill Street Brewery. millstreetbrewery.com
Ontario Spring Water Sake Company. ontariosake.com
Art InSite. artinsite.net
David Kaye Gallery. davidkayegallery.com
Artscape. torontoartscape.org
Gladstone Hotel. gladstonehotel.com
The Drake Hotel. thedrakehotel.ca
The Good Son. thegoodsontoronto.com
seetorontonow.com
blogto.com (good for restaurant and bar information).
Fodors Toronto. RRP: 14.99.
DK Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide: Toronto.
RRP: 7.99.
EXPEDIA offers seven nights at the Chelsea Hotel,
Toronto, including Air Transat flights from Gatwick,
from 699 per person. expedia.co.uk
60
IMAGES: GETTY; ALAMY
MORE INFO
For more information and to book visit aircanada.com

or contact your travel agent
Eat
VALLE DAOSTA
From floral Fontina cheese to cured ham for the connoisseur, youll find alpine foods
that feed both the appetite and the soul and inspire Michelin-starred chefs in
the mountain pastures of northwest Italy. Words: Donald Strachan
Hand-curing lardo
OPPOSITE PAGE: Exploring
Valle dAostas vineyards;

Fontina cheeses at La Croix
Saint Pierre DOP; plump
grapes from local vineyards
62
The cheese-making process begins right

afterwards, with the milk still at around 36C.
He adds an enzyme, then stirs and warms the
milk to around 48C, when cheese forms. Its
separated, pressed for 24 hours then matured
for at least 80 days to earn the Fontina Valle
dAosta DOP (Protected Designation of
Origin) stamp. But Valdostans are a frugal
mountain people; the process doesnt end
there. The remaining whey can be further
heated to around 82C, when the addition of a
little vinegar causes the fat to float to the
surface. The resulting cheese is brossa, a rich,
grainy, ricotta-type cheese, traditionally
eaten cool with warm maize polenta. Pretty
much everything bar the moo gets eaten.
I do everything by hand, Sandro says.
It makes a difference. His cheese is much
sought-after, and he sells most of it, via
tasting plates, to passing hikers. Some of the
rest is sold by Tascapan, which specialises in
showcasing artisan Valle dAosta food.
This valleys culinary heritage stems
mainly from the pasture beef, veal, game
and dairy, in particular. Small-scale
producers like Caseificio Duclos, in Variney,
are typical: a subterranean shop and
maturation room display racks of their
Fontina, toma (made with skimmed milk),
FIVE VALLE DAOSTA

FOOD FINDS
FONTINA DALPEGGIO: A strong cows
cheese with floral and farmyard scents,
using milk only from herds grazed on
high-altitude pastures
LARDO DI ARNAD: Delicate pigs fat
subjected to a sweet, aromatic salt cure
OLIO DI NOCE: Cold-pressed virgin
walnut oil, the traditional condiment
at altitudes where olive trees struggle
to bear fruit
PROSCIUTTO AL GNPY: Bertolins
Parma-style ham cured with gnpy,
an alpine herbal plant thats part of the
artemisia family
BROSSA: A rich, grainy cream made by
separating and whipping the fat from
the whey left behind after cheese-making
IMAGES: ROBERTO TADDEO; FRANCESCA ALTI; STEVEPHOTO DI STEFANO VENTURINI
m familiar with the phrase singing for

your supper but hiking for your cheese?
Thats a new one for me. High in the Italian
Alps, cheesemakers and their herds spend
summers far beyond the point where the
road ends. This is the secret to the delicate,
almost floral taste of Fontina cheese, made
from June to September. Up on the alpine
pastures, the alpeggi cows eat nothing
but grass, meadow flowers and wild herbs.
If youve heard of the Valle dAosta region,
its probably for its ski resorts, which include
Cervinia, Courmayeur and Gressoney. The
valley was once a well-trodden stretch of the
Via Francigena, the pilgrims path to Rome.
Both of its high alpine passes, as well as a
famous breed of rescue dog, are named after
St Bernard, an 11th-century priest, founder of
a travellers hospice here and now the patron
saint of snowboarders.
On a breezy afternoon, Im among the steady
stream of walkers arriving at Sandro Bonins
wooden cabin, where he sets trestle tables in
a sunny spot with views of snow-capped
peaks. Sandro keeps 60 dairy cows in the
Grimondet pasture, a 45-minute hike above
the ski and mountain bike resort of Pila.
Theyre milked twice a day. Every cow has her
own stall. Thats very important, he tells me.
December 2016
63
EAT
Contemporay cuisine by Maura Gosio

at Ristorante Petit Royal
TOP RIGHT: Chef Agostino Buillas
of Caf Quinson
Chardonnay from Les Crtes to wash down

crab ravioli with intense lemon pearls and
locally churned butter; Grosjean Fumin, made
with a robust local red grape, alongside piglet,
apricot, confit shallots and mountain salt; and
a sweet Pinot Grigio Passito, made from
partially dried grapes, with dessert.
The following day Im at Bertolin, the
valleys best-known meat curer. It began life in
1957 as a family butcher and is renowned for its
lardo di Arnad, you guessed it: lard. Production
is regulated by strict DOP rules, which specify
the breed (gran suino Padano), minimum
weight (160kg) and age (11 months) of every
pig. My guide, Marta Ninni, explains the
animals arent local, but come from the plains
of Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont, Lombardy and
the Veneto regions. Pigs are not common
here, says Marta. If you have one, you dont
sell it, you make your own salami.
Within 72 hours of slaughter (another rule),
butchered cuts from the pigs back are packed
into a large oak or chestnut tub called a doil,
along with salt, rosemary, sage, garlic, bay and
juniper. Its all boiled, then chilled in salted
water for a minimum of three months. Sliced
thin with a dribble of local honey, its gently
aromatic and melt-in-your-mouth delicate.
Afterwards, Marta leads us downstairs to
Bertolins shop and cafe, and brings a plate
loaded with sliced meats. Theres lardo, of
course, and also ham cured with artemisia;
juniper-smoked speck; and boudin, a purple
salami made with ground pork, potato,
beetroot and pigs blood; a strong carpaccio
made from the dark, dense meat of retired
dairy cows drizzled with cold-pressed walnut
oil, another Valle dAosta speciality. The
desiccated walnut leftover, troillet, is sold for
wheat-free baking or mixing with brossa or
yoghurt. Like I said, they dont waste
anything up here in the mountains.
A TASTE OF
Valle dAosta
CAF QUINSON
Chef Agostino Buillas works hard

for his Michelin star hes the
only one in the kitchen, prepping,
cooking and cleaning up
afterwards. Valley produce takes
centre-stage inside a 17th-century
stone chalet, but with 20 covers
max, it feels like private dining.
HOW MUCH: Tasting menus cost
60 (54), 80 (72) and 100 (90)
each without wine. cafequinson.it
MAISON ROSSET
The seasonal antipasto selection

laid out on arrival covers half the
table and if youre lucky, the main
event will be beef on the bone,
macerated in saltwater then
boiled in a wood oven and served
with a salsa verde. This is soul
food without pretension, reared
and prepared on their farm.
HOW MUCH: Seasonal multi-course
set menu 35 (31) per person
including house wine, water,
grappa and coffee. maisonrosset.it
PETIT ROYAL
The ambience in this tiny

restaurant is the height of alpine
chic, with furniture handcrafted
from antlers and silver birch
trunks. Michelin-starred Maura
Gosio combines global influences
in a creative modern style.
HOW MUCH: Three-course la
carte from 60 (54) without
wine. Tasting menus 85-120
(76-108). hotelroyalegolf.com
BRITISH AIRWAYS offers return
flights from Gatwick to Turin from 84.
Hotel Royal e Golf in Courmayeur has
double rooms from 169 (152) B&B.
ba.com hotelroyalegolf.com
MORE INFO: aosta-valley.co.uk
lovevda.it courmayeurmontblanc.it
bertolin.com
64
IMAGES: GEPPO DI MAURO
goats cheese, yoghurt, panna cotta and reblec

a spongy curd cheese.
Meanwhile, the classic carb here isnt the
pasta of central and southern Italy, nor even
the rice of the northern plains, but polenta,
traditionally cooked in a copper pot over a
wood fire. This is how they still prepare it at
Maison Rosset, a rustic agriturismo in the
wine village of Nus.
Over in Courmayeur, at the Hotel Royal e
Golf, I chat with chef Maura Gosio over an
aperitivo. Her adopted home, Courmayeur is
best known as one of Italys haute couture ski
resorts, but its also gaining a reputation for
food Heston Blumenthal is a regular
visitor, and in September the Lo Matsn food
market fills the cobbled streets with stalls
selling everything local: saffron, apples,
honey, craft beer and herb-infused grappa.
Maura oversees all of Royal e Golfs food,
from breakfast to a private dinner in a
Romanesque tower that was occupied in the
1200s by the King of Burgundys soldiers.
Maura was awarded her first Michelin star in
2005 at a restaurant near her native Varese.
She joined the hotels Petit Royal restaurant
in 2012; the star arrived in 2013.
What makes cooking in the valley so
special? Where I worked previously, we were
surrounded by factories. Here we have access
to so many kilometre zero products, she
says, using the Italian term for low food
mileage. She singles out cheese and meat,
of course, as well as local trout.
In nearby Morgex, Caf Quinsons Michelin
starred head chef in fact, only chef is
Agostino Buillas, who preps, cooks and cleans
up while his wife Elena and sister-in-law Anna
handle the front of house wearing traditional
mountain dress. During a long and memorable
dinner, a different Valle dAosta wine arrives
with every course: a Meursault-like oaked
Sleep
BUENOS AIRES
Electrifying and gregarious, the Argentine capital wears its
heart on its sleeve and its hotels reflect that personality in
their decadent splendour. Words: Daniel Neilson
Buenos Aires is an electrifying capital, a city that always seems set to fast-forward.
Its impossible not to get caught up with the enthusiasm and lust for life displayed
by porteos (as the citys residents are known). From the leafy, hip Palermo
neighbourhood, where cutting-edge fashion houses sit along cobbled streets, and
the frenetic thrill of downtown to the antique shops and traditional meat
restaurants among the colonial edifices of San Telmo, and the upmarket Recoleta
neighbourhood, Buenos Aires proves a city with many faces.
Yet, for all its plaudits and popularity, there are few big-ticket attractions. In fact,
the real attraction here is intangible. Its chatting to the gregarious porteos,
drinking a caf con leche in a corner cafe while watching the city wake. Its finding
a neighbourhood parrilla and digging into the tender meat it serves up.
Its drinking a beer or cocktail in one of the many trendy Palermo hotspots,
or visiting a milonga, where tango music plays long into the night
while dancers swirl around the dance floor.
VAT (IVA) on hotel rooms is 21%, and rarely included in the initial rate.
F
66
IMAGES: GETTY; JAVIER CSECS
Graffiti on Pasaje San Lorenzo, San Telmo
For subtle luxury
PALACIO DUHAU PARK

HYATT BUENOS AIRES
Its hard to believe this hotel has only

been open a decade; it breathes old world
grandeur. The Palacio Duhau, in the wealthy
Recoleta neighbourhood close to downtown,
was once a vast private mansion, but has
been since converted into one of the citys
most luxurious boltholes by Hyatt, which
built a completely new property behind the
original building, pushing the number of
rooms up to 165. One of the highlights is the
Vinoteca, housing a collection of thousands
of bottles of wine and a cheese room a
sommelier is always on hand for a tasting.
The spa is also exceptional.
ROOMS: From US$540 (415), room only.
buenosaires.park.hyatt.com
December 2016
67
SLEEP
For exploring Palermo

FIERRO HOTEL
Its the personal touches that make a stay at

the Fierro Hotel so memorable. Staff do all
they can to ensure visitors get the most from
their stay in Palermo Hollywood known
as such for the concentration of media
companies that now inhabit many of the old
houses of the area and the city as a whole.
An interactive concierge map picks out
the best bars and restaurants, and personal
recommendations highlight hidden gems.
The hotel itself is immaculate, with large,
modern suites. The food at UCO restaurant
is consistently excellent, and dont miss the
roof terrace pool, either.
ROOMS: Suites from US$159 (122), B&B.
fierrohotel.com
68
SLEEP
Poolside bedroom at Home

BELOW: Delta Eco Spa
For chic couples

HOME
When this 20-room hotel opened in 2005,

it was one of the citys first boutique hotels
an instant classic, thanks to its mid-century
design aesthetic and attention to detail, from
the designer staff uniforms to the llama wool
blankets. Tom, who owns the hotel with his
wife Patricia, collects vintage wallpaper, some
of which appears across the hotel. Its Palermo
Hollywood location is unbeatable. The bar
staff rustle up a mean cocktail, too.
ROOMS: Doubles from US$165 (134), B&B.
homebuenosaires.com
For a city escape

DELTA ECO SPA
RELAX RESORT
Tigre is a town on the Paran Delta, half

an hour north of downtown Buenos Aires
on the Tren de la Costa and is the perfect
escape from the city in summer. Shady and
breezy, you can hop onto the ferries for a day
roving around on the river. In short, this is
the place to relax, so why not go all out and
stay at the Delta Eco Spa Relax Resort. Prices
include all meals, taxes and use of the sauna,
steam room, pool and whirlpool bath.
ROOMS: From US$170 (131), all inclusive.
deltaecospa.com
December 2016
69
SLEEP
Faena Hotel Buenos Aires
THREE TO TRY
For rock stars
For upmarket backpackers
For a quiet break
There is, quite simply, no other hotel quite like

Faena. This Philippe Starck-designed property in
the regenerated port area hides some of the citys
most cutting-edge hotel design behind a red-brick
facade. If youre a rock star passing through the city,
this is where you stay. The lavish red, white and gold
rooms mix 1930s splendour, modernity and witty
details, while dining is taken care of by two superb
restaurants Bistro Sur is an astonishing space. The
bar, meanwhile, is run by expert mixologists and the
tango show here is one of the best in the city.
ROOMS: From US$335 (258), room only. faena.com
San Telmo is the citys oldest, most atmospheric

neighbourhood full of antique stores, traditional meat
restaurants, old bars and boutique shops. On a Sunday,
the antiques market is one of the biggest attractions.
Contrasting with the crumbling facades is the sleek
Circus Hostel & Hotel, offering private en suite rooms
as well as dormitory accommodation at great prices.
The rooms are basic, but clean and the communal areas
are pleasant. That said, its out on the streets of this
neighbourhood where youll want to spend most time.
ROOMS: Doubles from US$48 (40), room only.
hostelcircus.com
A historic family home converted into a great

little hotel, the Duque Hotel Boutique & Spa is
conveniently located right next to Palermo Soho, one
of the most attractive and bustling areas in Buenos
Aires. This hotel is a quiet hideaway from the noise of
the city and evokes a sense of calm throughout. The
rooms are well appointed and comfortable; theres
a lovely little library space, a welcoming breakfast
room and an outdoor patio. The spa includes a
whirlpool bath and sauna.
ROOMS: From US$90 (70), B&B.
duquehotel.com
IMAGE: TIM CLINCH
FAENA HOTEL BUENOS AIRES
CIRCUS HOSTEL & HOTEL
DUQUE HOTEL BOUTIQUE & SPA
December 2016
71
SLEEP
Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires
For nighthawks
HOTEL BABEL
Located in a converted house on a quiet

street in the bohemian San Telmo area,
Babel blends fin de sicle architecture with
sleek modernity. The suites surround a
central patio, typical of houses of the area.
Wood dominates the interior design of the
rooms making them feel warm and cosy. The
communal spaces are equally welcoming,
and theres a small bar. The staff can also
help with organising tango classes and
transfers. Overall, its a well-priced hotel in a
great location if youre looking to stay in the
heart of San Telmo.
ROOMS: Doubles from US$53 (41), room only.
hotelbabel.com.ar
72
For splashing out
For local sights
Ageing celebrities, heads of state and those

in need of a dose of luxury choose the Four
Seasons. Its based around a Recoleta mansion
with a larger, 13-storey building adjoined
and is the epitome of luxury. The Elena
Restaurant is a lovely spot for a superlative
steak, but for the full asado experience, the
outdoor Nuestro Secreto is a must. The more
casual Pony Line Lounge is the place for a
cocktail. The rooms in the old mansion are
inspired by the Belle poque, while the rooms
in the main building are more modern.
ROOMS: From US$545 (420), room only.
fourseasons.com/buenosaires
As the name suggests, this is another

residence in San Telmo once again
built around a central patio. It captures
the time at the beginning of the 20th
century when San Telmo was the wealthiest
neighbourhood in Buenos Aires. When a
cholera epidemic swept through the city,
the rich moved north, leaving San Telmo
to decay. Today, the area continues to be
regenerated, and its hotels like this that
are going a long way to improving one of
the most atmospheric neighbourhoods in
Buenos Aires.
ROOMS: From US$70 (54), B&B.
patiosdesantelmo.com.ar
FOUR SEASONS HOTEL

BUENOS AIRES
PATIOS DE SAN TELMO
CANADA FOR
EVERYONE
Direct
flights
Free
meal
Free checked
baggage
Personalised
entertainment
TOP REASONS TO FLY
AIR TRANSAT
Personalised entertainment available
Added comfort with spacious leather seats
Meal & glass of wine included
23 kg free baggage allowance
Club Class & Option Plus available for added comfort
Easy, stress-free travel with our Kids Club program
airtransat.co.uk
FLIGHTS FROM
London Gatwick,
Manchester, Birmingham
& Glasgow
to Toronto
Year round flights available.
Daily from London Gatwick.
INDIA
A FEAST
FOR THE
SENSES
Intricate, delicate and diverse, the carefully balanced

flavours of the food of the Indian subcontinent
continue to confound, bewilder and enchant visitors.
Take an Indian food journey through Delhi, Mumbai,
Jaipur and Goa and through the tastebuds of the
chefs and foodies who live there to reveal a fleeting,
tempting glimpse of the nations culinary prowess
Words A U D R E Y G I L L A N & G E T H I N C H A M B E R L A I N
74
December 2016
75
IMAGES: GETTY; GETHIN CHAMBERLAIN
INDIA
IMAGES: SUPERSTOCK; AUDREY GILLAN; ALAMY
CLOCKWISE: The busy

quarter of Chandni
Chowk; a paanwallah
making paan in Old
Delhi; swirls of soft
dough called jalebi; Ved
Prakash, handing over
his famous nimbu pani, a
salty sweet fizz
76
INDIA
Delhi
A deft hand clutches a bag filled with fermented

dough, drawing fast circles that firm up when they hit
the bubbling ghee. The air smells buttery and sweet.
Sitting cross-legged behind a giant pot, a man makes
a row of five or six coils, pushes them away and starts
swirling again. The concentric circles soon become a
toffee brown, then theyre scooped out and drenched
in a hot, saffron-scented syrup.
This is the Old Famous Jalebi Wala, serving jalebis
to the denizens of Old Delhi for more than 130 years.
Standing amid the chaos of Chandni Chowk (one of
AN
the citys oldest and busiest streets), with a soundtrack
of ceaselessly beeping car horns, I bite through a
crunchy coating into swirls of soft dough and it
becomes apparent why jalebi are one of Indias most
popular monsoon foods. Above my head, wires criss-cross and hang in dangerous tangles,
monkeys run along building ledges and down here on the street immaculately dressed
schoolkids sit crammed by the dozen as their rickshaw driver pedals furiously. I pick my way
through the beautiful bedlam, seeking out street food in narrow lanes. At Ved Prakash, the
lemon soda seller pops the marble stoppers in thick green bottles and hands me his famous
nimbu pani, a salty sweet fizz.
Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib is a Sikh temple where, in its community kitchen, women roll
breads and other volunteers tend vast vats of vegetarian curries. Here, all are welcome,
through the Sikh tradition of langar, eating together for free, cross-legged on the floor of a
large hall, without distinction of faith or caste. Even in the monsoon season, the heat of the
Delhi day is taxing, so a rickshaw specially padded to soothe the impact of uneven streets is
most welcome as I whirlwind around, trying chaat (street snacks) and sweetmeats from
roadside carts, stalls and shopfronts.
Ive joined a guided street food tour with India City Walks, but its possible, if less easy,
to do it yourself. In Korma, Kheer and Kismet: Five Seasons in Old Delhi, Scottish journalist
Pamela Timms details her love affair with the street foods and the book is a good guide for
those who hanker for authentic places with suitable standards of hygiene.
My tour takes in Karims, a dhabba (eatery) selling kebabs and rich curries with roots in
Mughal cuisine, as well as Haji Mohammed Hussain Chicken and Fish Fry in Matia Mahal
where the eponymous proprietor has been frying for 22 years. The secret is that my spices
are ground by hand, he says. But what exactly these spices are is my secret. At Shahi
Andaaz The Paan Shop, Im handed a parcel of betel leaves stuffed with ground dates,
rosewater, green cardamom, gulkand (a sweet preserve made from rose petals) and the
softly-scented, subtly-spiced bundle is an ambrosial surprise.
The green, wide boulevards of New Delhi are a contrast to the bedlam of the old city, and
over a beer at a private members club in the India International Centre, food writer Rahul
Verma explains how Indian food is changing. Were getting exposed to new cuisine and we
have a lot of ingredients that we never got before our economy opened. It was almost a
socialist society, he says. Now people can get white truffle and Wagyu beef though this
only reflects the eating habits of 0.5% of society or even less than that. Some people cant
afford the food they could afford 25 years ago. Lentils are so expensive now; they used to be
20 rupees and now theyre 180, but theyre a main source of protein for most poor people.
The citys wealthier gourmands often head to Friends Colony, an affluent residential suburb
of South Delhi, where, at Indian Accent, chef Manish Mehrotra is an acclaimed creator of new
Indian food. The tasting menu changes with the seasons mine has teeny blue cheese naan
with coconut and cashew chutney (thats your fusion right there), and a glorious duck
khurchan (leftover scraps in Hindi) in a cornetto cone.
This is global Indian food. All our dishes have an Indian accent, part of the soul of the
dish is Indian, says Mehrotra, as he places a platter of ghee-roast mutton boti (kebab), four
types of chutney and roomali pancakes on my table. Truly a delight is a dessert called Daulat
Ki Chaat, meaning savoury wealth, a sweetened saffron-flavoured milk foam that feels like
sweet air in the mouth and is scattered with a crushed praline made from rose petals, jaggery
(unrefined sugar) and almonds. A street food dish, it is only made
outdoors in winter since it collapses the moment it comes
into sunlight.
India City Walks.
At Varq, in the Taj Mahal Hotel, the food is also contemporary
indiacitywalks.com
Indian. Varqi crab is a layered dish of filo, crab and tandoori prawn.
Indian Accent.
Chef Ashish Ugal explains that the layering comes from the north
indianaccent.com
(think biryanis), and the subtly-spiced crab from the south.
India International
But as modern Indian cuisine gallops on, the classic tastes of Old
Centre. iicdelhi.nic.in
Varq. taj.tajhotels.com
Delhi are still there you just need to know where to find them.
THE REAL
STREET FOOD
Words A U D R E Y G I L L
December 2016
77
INDIA
G oa
Theres a man with a large basket tied to his bicycle, wobbling

past the front of the rented house where Im staying, tucked
away at the end of a lane in the village of Porta Waddo on the
north coast of Goa. I watch him calling out his wares: fish
caught this morning in the river nearby. Some of the villagers
appear at their gates to haggle with him, and a few rupees are
exchanged for the small mackerel which will be the star
ingredient in their fish curry rice.
This is the staple of Goan cuisine, fish in a coconut gravy
served with a mound of rice grown in the fields surrounding
the village. Small shacks on the nearby beaches sell it for
75 rupees (1) a plate, but this one will be made from scratch,
the fish bought from the boat, the rice from the farmer, the
chillies and onions and garlic from the woman who grew them,
MBERLAIN
the coconut from the man who climbed the tree to knock it
down. The tamarind that gives it the necessary tartness hangs
in pods from trees in the garden.
The harbour is barely a mile away, along the sandy path
running between big old Portuguese-era villas. Everyone knows Goa for its beaches,
but step inland and you enter another altogether more tranquil world, a rural idyll of
intense natural beauty. There are langur monkeys in the trees and kingfishers and
pure white egrets out there, black kites soaring high in the sky. Its a world that
demands to be seen.
It takes a moment to locate a hat and a bottle of water and step into the lane, narrowly
missing another bicycling salesman holding a bunch of balloons and parping a horn.
Barely 8am, its already warm, a typical late October morning, the monsoon receding, the
sky a deep blue. I run through the ingredients in my head: an onion; a couple of cloves of
garlic; another couple of green chillies; a dozen mackerel, cleaned and quickly sliced
along the length of the body; one coconut, grated; a lump of tamarind pulp big enough to
fit in the palm of the hand; at least half a dozen dried red
chillies; a teaspoon each of cumin seeds and turmeric powder
and a tablespoon of coriander seeds.
Then theres the rice. Round the corner, the village women
are tipping out bags of newly harvested grains onto the road to
dry. I buy half a kilo for 25 rupees (0.30) from a stall nearby
and head on north, passing first a brightly coloured Hindu
shrine, then a Catholic church, its white paint gleaming in the
sun. A herd of water buffalo emerge from the river. Huge and
solid, with alarmingly sharp horns, they have a reputation for
unpredictability, and I scuttle past swiftly. A f lash of blue
denotes a stork-billed kingfisher, perched on a power line, from
which also hangs a fruit bat. A couple of bee-eaters f lit past and
then an egret. The back lanes are a wildlife paradise. In the past
week there have been hornbills, sunbirds and a pair of otters
playing among the fishermens nets.
Among the towering palms of a coconut orchard I watch a
man shinning up a tree to knock down the fruit growing from
the crown. Ten rupees (0.12) secures me one. Today, theres no
sign of the otters, but the fishermen are there, paddling wooden
canoes. A bigger boat putters towards the harbour wall and
I quicken my pace, for this is what I was hoping to see.
The boat pulls up and a basket of mackerel is passed to a
woman sitting on a short stool. Shes immediately surrounded
by people thrusting money at her. The mackerel are bagged
quickly; at 200 rupees (2.50) a kilo, theyre excellent value.
The onions and chillies come from the local women who sit
along the roadside, chatting in Konkani, their wares spread
before them. They indicate prices with fingers, one for 10
LUXURY GOA VILLAS
rupees (0.12), two for 20 (0.24). Another stall sell spices in
is one of several firms
twists of newspaper. The ingredient list is complete.
offering villa rentals from
A few tourists buzz past on motorbikes, heading for Ashwem
550 a week, with a
beach, a swim and sunbathe, and then lunch on fish curry rice
minimum stay of three
washed down with a cold Kingfisher beer. But Ill be slaving
nights. Qatar Airways has
over a hot stove, then eating mine out on the balcony, hoping
flights from Heathrow via
for a glimpse of the sea eagle that occasionally passes this way.
Doha. luxurygoavillas.com
qatarairways.com
Sometimes the hardest way is the best way.
Words G E T H I N C H A
ABOVE: Chapora river,

near Portawaddo
OPPOSITE FROM
TOP: Coconut grove,

Portawaddo; locally
fished mackerel
78
IMAGES: GETHIN CHAMBERLAIN
FISH CURRY
WITH A
FLOURISH
INDIA
December 2016
79
INDIA
Mumbai
Its 7am as we move through a door under a peeling sign painted:

B. Merwan & Co. High-class bakers and confectioners, provision
stores. At the counter, a throng of men jostle for attention from
assistants deftly packing up cakes and buns in white paper. We
squeeze by and grab the very last table, easing out a sigh of relief.
Weve come for mawa cakes and if you dont turn up at this bakery
in South Mumbai before 7.30am, youre unlikely to get any at all.
Soft, buttery and scented with green cardamom, they take their
name from the caramelised, sweet clumps that form when milk is
long boiled in a flat, open pan. At just 10 rupees each, its hard not
to eat at least half a dozen. As I bite into these little warm pillows,
I see why theres a queue by the door and why people travel across
this megalopolis for mawa fresh from the oven.
With its bentwood chairs, mirrored walls and fans swirling on
high ceilings, the style of B. Merwan, which is more than a century
old, is typical of the old Irani cafes of Mumbai, created by
Zoroastrians who fled persecution from Persia in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries. Signature dishes include beri pulao, bun
maska (buttery buns) and sweet chai laced with cardamom. Also
known as Parsi cafes, theyre inspiration for the Dishoom chain
across London, not just the menu but its style.
Before I left for Mumbai, I met up with Naved Nasir, executive
chef of Dishoom, who gave me a little map of all his favourite Irani
eateries, saying there was no other city in the world where hed
rather eat. Its like a mecca, he says. Its a melting pot of all
Indian cultures because a lot of people have migrated to Mumbai.
At Britannia & Co Naveds favourite I try beri pulao, a kind
of chicken biryani with tart barberries, cashews and caramelised
onions, and sali boti, a mutton curry sweetened with jaggery but
made sour with vinegar, and topped with tiny fried potato
straws. Boman Kohinoor, the restaurants 94-year-old owner,
says that theyve been lucky. In 1950, I took count of the Parsi restaurants, there were 400
of them. Today, when I count there are hardly 40 left, he says.
Real-estate prices in Mumbai are higher than in Manhattan or Tokyo and so the new
generation of Parsis often prefer to cash in than work long days in family restaurants. But
some treasures remain. Yazdani Bakery & Restaurant was also opened in the 1950s and is
famous for brun maska, a bread roll with butter that Naved eulogised about: Its a slightly
sweetened dough laid with a thick slab of butter that you dip into a cup of chai. This
transforms it into a different dish entirely.
Owner Parvez Irani explains that its important that his crispy rolls remain cheap. When
the price of flour went up, my father said, This must go into peoples stomach, not our pocket.
This is poor mans food; they mustnt feel the pinch, he says. Our customers are the chosen
ones. The world cannot go without bread.
My guide, Harshvardhan Tanwar (Harsh for short), shows me his Bombay. Mumbai is a
city, Bombay is an emotion, he says. We visit the docks at dawn and watch women haggle for
baskets of Bombay duck, which is, in fact, a lizardfish. We meet the citys dabbawallas, a
network of men who pick up Mumbaikars lunch boxes from home and deliver them to their
offices. Theyre illiterate, how the hell they look at addresses, I dont know, says Harsh.
They have their codes and know exactly where each box needs to
be. Only one in every six million tiffins goes to the wrong place.
Theyre logistical supermen.
We eat kheema pav (minced lamb curry on a bread roll) at Olympia
Coffee House, another old Parsi cafe and try what Harsh calls the
Bombay slider, vada pav, a spiced potato patty stuffed into a bun at
Ladu Samrat. The Portuguese brought pav to India, and the dough
was kneaded with the leg, says Harsh. India was the worst place for
food until the mughals and the Portuguese came. They brought
tomatoes, cashews, potatoes. Every time we have a heart attack in
our country we blame the Portuguese. Five hundred years ago, we
didnt have any chillies growing here and now we just own it.
As the textile industry of Bombay grew, migrant workers came to
the city to work in the mills and brought their tastes with them,
giving rise to an incredibly diverse street food culture. At dusk we
head to Mohammed Ali Road and hop between stalls eating
kebabs, flaky roti and chaat, but my favourite is the hand-churned
ice cream at Taj, where sitafal, the creamy custard apple is sublime.
Words A U D R E Y G I L L A N
80
IMAGES: ALAMY; AUDREY GILLAN; GETTY; SANJAY RAMCHANDRAN
FROM PARSI
TO PESHAWRI
INDIA
Crawford Market, Mumbai

OPPOSITE FROM TOP: Boman Kohinoor, the 94-year-old
owner of Britannia & Co; old signage outside Yazdani
Bakery; chilled seafood bhel at the Bombay Canteen
Peshawri, in the ITC Maratha, has changed nothing on the menu for 35 years. This
is the frontier cuisine of the North West historically, of pre-independence India which
included parts of Afghanistan cooked in a tandoor or clay oven. The signature dahl
bukhara, a silky black lentil dish, is rendered unctuous by having been cooked for
24 hours. An enormous naan bread is brought to the table and chef Mayank Kulshreshtha
tells me that I must stand it up to check the quality. He laughs, It should be standing up
straight to salute the person whos going to eat it.
My Mumbai journey ends at The Bombay Canteen, housed in a converted mill
building, where young executive chef Thomas Zacharias, whose immersion in
food began in his grandmothers kitchen, brings his own version of bhel puri (spicy
rice dish) and a pork vindaloo taco. Theres a lot of local produce thats used at
home but never found in restaurants. We wanted to celebrate the things we grew
up with. We change our menu seasonally, and as a concept in India, its pretty
alien, he says.
Mumbai is, as Naved Nasir says, truly a culinary mecca. And Bombay is, as Harsh told
me, an emotion, one thats truly embodied in its food.
B. Merwan & Co.

T: 00 91 22 2309 3321.
Britannia & Co. T: 00 91 22 2261 5264.
Yazdani Bakery & Restaurant.
T: 00 91 22 22870739.
Olympia Coffee House.
Rahim Mansion No.1, Shahid Bhagat
Singh Marg, Colaba.
Peshawri. itchotels.in/hotels
The Bombay Canteen.
thebombaycanteen.com
Audreys guide in Mumbai was
Harshvardhan Singh Tanwar of
No Footprints, Mumbai.
facebook.com/nofootprintsmumbai
T: 00 91 96 1995 2576.
December 2016
81
INDIA
Manjit Singh Gill
IMAGES: PESHAWRI/ITC MARATHA; ALAMY
ITS MOUTH
MUSIC
Indian food isnt spicy, its spiced. Its called Indian food, but the term really means the
cuisine of the subcontinent, which is very diverse. However, the philosophy, guidelines and
fundamentals throughout the region dont change, so thats why we can use the term.
The diversity of our dishes is the result of our varied flora and fauna and climate, and with
that food habits are distinct, too. Ingredients are used differently according to the local
climate, and the whole structure and texture of a dish depends on the cooking medium. Ghee
is used all over India, but it isnt always the cooking agent of choice though it is in the
north. In the south of the country, they use coconut oil or sesame oil and the cuisine changes
dramatically. In the east, food is cooked in mustard oil and in the west, groundnut oil.
Then theres the variety of spices. Whole spice, coarsely-ground and fine powders all behave
differently. Region to region has a different spice mix, which is also dependent on the season.
Cooking methods vary too. In the north, its basically barbecue, sauteing and stewing.
Southern India is all about boiling and steaming. In the east, its frying and steaming, and in
the west, steaming, boiling, frying. Most people from outside India think North Indian food
is Indian food, but it isnt. Its always many different things from many different places.
Indians never think of food as a commodity. Its very auspicious and we worship it. We
emphasise that meals have to be tasty and must make you happy. We dont define textures,
like soft or hard, only the different ways in which you eat it.
Food has six tastes: sweet, salty, sour, pungent, bitter and astringent which must all be
balanced. When you mix two or three tastes, then the alchemy is marvellous. We believe that
taste changes the body chemistry and how the body reacts. Its nourishment for the mind,
body and soul. If its only flavourful, then its for the body; if its tasty, then its for the mind.
The body craves different tastes according to the time of year, and there are six
gastronomic seasons in India, with different produce being plentiful for about two months.
All of this means our cuisine is constantly changing. Its mouth music.
Dal bukhara, Peshawri,

ITC Maratha
LEFT: Bukhara
Restaurant at the ITC
Maurya, New Delhi
Manjit Singh Gill is

culinary royalty in India.
The corporate chef at
ITC Hotels, he oversees
some of country's best
restaurants, including
Bukhara in Delhi and the
Peshawri chain.
itchotels.in/welcomcuisine
December 2016
83
INDIA
Re cipe
DISHOOM: KEEMA PAU

This is a classic of Bombays old Irani cafes, as served in Caf Olympia and Radio
Restaurant. Spicy lamb mince and green peas with plenty of freshly-baked white bread for
dipping. The pau in question is a very soft, chewy bread roll introduced by Portuguese
settlers in Bombay (the word comes from the Portuguese pao), then popularised
by the Irani cafes and bakeries that sprung up around a century ago. We
bake our own, but you should look for very soft and fresh bread rolls
to scoop up the mince and soak up the rich gravy. dishoom.com
(Serves 4)
INGREDIENTS
500g lamb mince (keema)
25ml vegetable oil
1 large brown onion, finely chopped
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tbsp ginger, finely grated
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Salt to taste
1 small green chilli, finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely chopped
2 heaped tbsps fresh coriander, finely
chopped
1 heaped tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
50g plain yoghurt
2 ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
50g peas, cooked
1 bay leaf
Pinch of all-purpose flour
4 pau buns (or soft burger buns)
METHOD
1. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed frying
IMAGE: MING TANG-EVANS/DISHOOM
pan over a medium heat and saut the

onion until golden brown.
2. Add the coriander powder, bay leaf, ginger
and garlic. Saut until they start to colour
and the oil separates.
3. Add the keema and salt and fry on a high heat
until it dries up a little. Add a pinch of flour.
4. Make a coarse paste with the coriander, spring onion,
mint and green chilli.
5. Add the yoghurt and saut for a moment, then add the green
herb paste and keep cooking until the oil separates.
6. Add diced tomatoes, bayleaf and green peas. Cook until the
tomatoes are soft.
7. Toast the pau bun until golden brown.
8. Serve in a bowl with the buttered pau alongside, garnished
with fresh coriander leaves.
December 2016
85
INDIA
86
INDIA
Jaipur
It may go by the name of the Pink City, but really the colours of
Jaipur are amber, burnished red and deep ochre. Locals laugh now
at the silliness of painting the city pink in 1876 in honour of the
visit of Prince Albert, but they cherish the romance that the
moniker bestows. Intricately detailed merchants houses are
adorned with cupolas and trabeated arches and crenellated walls
decorated with filigrees. Step under those in Chandpole Bazar and
youll find spice and vegetable sellers vending wares that speak of
this citys history as a seat of Rajasthani princes, of a royal cuisine.
Though its the countrys 10th largest city, Jaipur is less frenetic
than many of its Indian counterparts. There are still auto
AN
rickshaws and car horns, thronging markets and beggars, but
theres also a calmer ambience that comes with its present day still
being deeply caught up in its past. When this old centre was built
(construction started in 1727), the roads were 108ft wide and
drafted onto a grid system, and its buildings could be no higher than 54ft half the width of
the road so that each person had equal access to sunlight.
These Rajput rulers, descended from Mughal invaders, preferred a different kind of
cooking than seen elsewhere in India, not least because they liked to eat meat (many Indians
are vegetarian). Intense heat and a paucity of fresh vegetables dictate the plates here, and they
embrace North Indian dishes such as korma (mild curry) and rogan (aromatic lamb) and nihari
gosh (slow-cooked meat stew).
Im invited for a cooking lesson at Sankotra Haveli, one of the oldest city centre palaces and
private residence for more than 270 years. In spite of being just off Johari Bazaar, thick
limestone walls render it peaceful inside and clever internal terraces and courtyards allow air
to flow. Ratna and Damynti teach me to make goat meat kebabs, a Rajasthani chicken dish
with spices, coconut and curd, and a paneer cheese and tomato masala. Bharati Singh, who
married into the family but is also Rajputi, tells me, What we eat in hotels and what we eat in
the home are totally different.
At Samode Haveli, another elaborate house thats now a boutique hotel, executive chef
Rajeev Sharma is making jungli maas (or lal maas, both meaning red meat). He slow-cooks
chicken in ghee in a brass handi (pot) and is using whole Rajasthani chillis and little else but
garlic, cumin and bouquet garni. Im using the old Indian method, I dont believe in using the
oven. I use an atta (flour) dough ring to seal the pot and lid and this works like a pressure
cooker, he says. You dont add anything now and this meat will speak its own language.
NAMKEEN
& MORE
IMAGES: GETTY; AWL IMAGES; AUDREY GILLAN
Words A U D R E Y G I L L
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP
LEFT: Hawa Mahal,

Jaipur; Samode Haveli;
sugar cane juicing
ABOVE: Weighing
namkeen at Rawat
Mishthan Bhandar
December 2016
87
INDIA
Chandpole Bazar near

Chandpole Gate
BELOW: Picking fenugreek
Sankotra Haveli. sankotra.com

Samode Haveli. samode.com
Rawat Mishtan Bandar.
T: 00 91 141 236 0608.
Lakshmi Misthan Bhandar. hotellmb.com
Rambagh Palace Hotel. taj.tajhotels.com
TRANSINDUS offers nine nights from
2,250 per person, twin-share, in
standard-grade hotels, or from 2,950
per person, twin-share, in deluxe hotels.
The price includes international economy
flights, breakfast, all internal travel,
transfers and English-speaking guides.
transindus.co.uk
88
Having too many spices, you dont get the flavour of the particular
dish. It should have a distinct taste to it.
Namkeen crunchy, savoury snacks are an addiction in
Jaipur and I join the arms-jostling queue at Rawat Mishtan
Bhandar to wait for kachori, a deep-fried flaky pastry filled with
spiced moong dal (mung beans), or pyaaz (onion). Glass cabinets
are stacked with dozens of different kinds, as well as fat, pastelcoloured confectionery as much of a treasure in Jaipur as its
famous jewellery, no doubt because the maharajas and their court
had particularly sweet teeth.
At a streetside lassiwalla there are several clustered together
but the best is number 312 (Kishanlal Govind Narayan Agarwal)
I clutch a cool, clay cup filled with a sweet, yoghurt drink that
Rajasthanis believe abates sunstroke.
Lakshmi Misthan Bhandar, known as LMB, is another sweet
and namkeen emporium (thats part of a hotel complex), but Ive
come here for the Rajasthani Royal Thaal, billed a unique lifetime
experience. It begins with a thin, peppery papad mangori soup. A
thaal (a large silver platter) is filled with small dishes, both sweet
and savoury, with little dumplings as well as dal (lentils),
vegetables, raita and roti bread followed by mishri mawa, a thickened milk dessert.
The history of Rajasthan is, of course, made manifest in its architecture. My Jaipur base at
Samode allows me to visit Amber (also known as Amer) Fort, the majestic hill-top palace and
stronghold that was home to the Rajput maharajas until they moved to the newly-built city.
A museum is now housed in the City Palace, but it still hosts Maharaja Padmanabh Singh (at
school in England) on his visits home. The opulent lifestyle of the regions princes and
princesses before the reformation and independence of India was truly astonishing. Sitting
sipping a cocktail on the terrace of the Rambagh Palace Hotel, watching peacocks strut
on the lawn, one can only imagine what it was like to be part of the retinue (or even a servant)
of the last fully-fledged maharaja of Jaipur, Sawai Man Singh II, and his cosmopolitan
princess Maharani Gayatri Devi.
These days their salubrious family home is a hotel, a slightly more egalitarian aid to
indulging royalty fantasies, and the regions cuisine helps make that reverie taste just a
little more real.
IMAGES: AUDREY GILLAN; GETTY
seeds, Chandpole Bazar
Last frontier
Words A A R O N M I L L A R
90
IMAGE: GETTY
On the border with Mexico, the Big Bend National Park in Texas is the place
IMAGE: GETTY
to experience that famous pioneer spirit amid its empty desert and jagged
mountains, beneath its dark skies and on the streets of its ghost towns
December 2016
91
he far west of Texas is

Americas last frontier. As
I stand on the edge of the
Rio Grande a thin line of
rushing muddy water that
divides Mexico from the US I hold both
countries in a single view. To the north,
there are oil rigs and shopping malls; to the
south, horseback vaqueros (cowboys) and a
crumbling, waterless town. But here theres
nothing. These are the borderlands, an inbetween place where wranglers and artists,
misfits and ranchers, shelter in the vastness
of the desert. Life here, on the periphery, is
Legend has it that on Easter Sunday, the first

rays of sun light up a section of the mountain
and illuminate the entrance to the mine, which
is believed to be still stocked full of gold
PREVIOUS PAGES: Rio

Grande flowing through
the Chihuahuan Desert,
with the Sierra del
Carmen on the horizon
RIGHT FROM TOP: Rio
Grande at Santa Elena
Canyon; jackrabbit
92
wilderness and silence, the boundless spirit

of independence that built this country and
the eyes of another looking in.
The heart of it is Big Bend National Park,
800,000-acres of sparse and dusty grasslands
in the far southwestern corner of the state.
In the centre are the Chisos Mountains, the
only range in the US contained completely
within the borders of a national park. From
a distance they appear like a giants fist,
knuckles of jagged rock punching up from
beneath the earth. I can see them rise, peak
and fall at once, like a wave an island
surrounded by desert on all sides. And indeed
they are. Reaching nearly 8,000ft high, the
Chisos a name that means enchantment
command their own ecosystem, a cooler,
lusher habitat prowled by black bears and
mountain lions. A streak of green and red, the
mountains pull heat into swirling clouds of
thunder that spark the sky with shards of light
and flashes of luminescent rainbow.
Ive come here because almost no one
does. In a year, Big Bend receives less than
a third of the visitor numbers Yellowstone
or the Grand Canyon attract in a single

summer month. Those iconic landscapes
are beautiful, but crowded; Big Bend is a
private show. My plan is to spend five days
exploring the region inside and around
the national park, one of the last swathes
of true American wilderness untouched
by mass-scale industry and tourism. What
was life like here, on the edge, less than two
centuries ago, when Apache and Comanche
roamed free and herds of bison filled the
plains as far as the eye could see? I want
to recreate something of that pioneer spirit
for myself, in the emptiness of the desert,
in the borderlands and ghost towns, in
the dark skies and unfathomable silence
of these fading reaches of Americas
last frontier.
I begin in the mountains. The Lost Mine
Trail, in the heart of the Chisos range, is
so named because as the story goes a
group of Spanish explorers, centuries ago,
enslaved the local Indians in order to work a
gold mine near the summit of the trail. But
the natives rebelled, killing their masters
and sealing the entrance to prevent further
exploitation. Legend has it that on Easter
Sunday, the first rays of sun lit up a section of
the mountain and illuminated the entrance
to the mine, which is believed to be still
stocked full of gold.
True or not, its one of the best hikes in
the park and I have it all to myself, following
a hairpin bend to a high mesa where Indian
paintbrush flowers bloom and agave cacti
laze in the sun. The author Etta Koch, who
wrote a memoir of her time here in the
mid-1940s, described her reaction to the
landscape as a moment when your heart
stands still and your whole body seems to
swell. And I know what she means. From
the top, its like looking across an ocean
layers of hazy purple hills, and ghosted
white clouds, fading into a vast expanse of
empty space as far as I can see. Its as if Im
marooned in the mountains a smudge of
green watercolour sinking into the desert
sands below. But no treasure for me today.
The problem with the legend, a ranger
later tells me, is Easter Sunday changes
every year and there aint no damn gold up
here anyhow.
IMAGES: AWL IMAGES
TEXAS
TEXAS
December 2016
93
TEXAS
94
TEXAS
We watch a group of boys playing football on

the streets and an old man singing ballads on a
broken guitar. I eat enchiladas and wince down
the strongest margarita Ive ever had
IMAGES: GETTY; AARON MILLAR
Love thy neighbour
ABOVE: Wrangler Kelly

Straw, Study Butte
LEFT FROM TOP: The
Sierra del Carmen massif
looms over Boquillas
village in the Chihuahuan
Desert; locals gathered
in the Starlight Theatre,
Terlingua
Big Bend is a clash of three distinct

ecosystems. There are the mountains. And
then theres the river: 118 miles of the Rio
Grande mark the far southern boundary of
the park. In the middle is the official border,
a literal line drawn in the sand of its muddy
depths like the tracks of a wet snake. I take a
rafting trip through the canyons of the upper
section, push off from Texas and picnic in
Mexico on the other side.
And then theres the desert: the largest in
North America. Spanning 175,000sq miles,
from New Mexico and Arizona into northern
Mexico, the Chihuahuan Desert accounts for
80% of the park. Here, away from the cool
of the mountains and the chill of the river,
ground temperatures can reach 82C and only
10 inches of rain fall a year. But theres life,
still: coyotes and roadrunners, chasing each
other as they do in the cartoon; rattlesnakes
shaking the bushes; tarantulas as big as my
hand. I find natural hot springs, cacti with
red fruits that taste like strawberries, and
sudden blooms of bright-pink wildflowers
springing from summer rains. Then, as the
sun sets causing the tips of the Chisos
to glow bright orange like the embers of an
enormous fire stick I stay out in the dark
and wait for the stars to come. Extreme
remoteness has granted Big Bend some of the
darkest skies in the world. On a clear night,
its possible to see more than 2,000 of the
Milky Ways shining lights. Its like looking
into the spinning heart of the galaxy itself.
But perhaps the most unusual aspect of the

park is Boquillas, a tiny Mexican settlement
just under a mile outside Big Bends southern
border. For centuries itd been a major
crossing between the two countries, but
the events of September 11 changed all that.
America closed its borders, and with no crops
to grow there was little chance of survival;
the village drifted into rubble and ghosts,
many of which remain.
The border has now reopened although
Mexicans entering the US still need a visa,
which for many is extremely difficult. As
soon as I cross, its like entering another
world. In place of pavements and air
conditioning is thick, sticky mud and
sweltering heat. To get to the village, I have
to wade barefoot through a swamp to the
edge of the river, wait for a dinghy to row
me to the other side and then hop on a
donkey. My guide, Raul, shows me the towns
bright-yellow church and a small elementary
school with carefully placed white stones
standing in for a fence. We watch a group of
boys playing football on the streets and an
old man singing ballads on a broken guitar.
I eat spicy enchiladas with black beans and
wince down the strongest margarita Ive ever
had. Then he takes me to the villages new
solar energy field. As of last year, Boquillas
has electricity for the first time, but still no
running water. And life is still hard. The
people here, Raul explains, used to be able to
get petrol and groceries inside the national
park, just 10 miles away.
December 2016
95
TEXAS
96
IMAGE: 4CORNERS
TEXAS
Starlight Theatre, Terlingua
Now because of the visa issue they

have to travel hundreds of miles through the
mountains. Where medical attention was just
on the other side of the river, now its more
than three hours away. Friends, families and
business partners have been separated.
At least now we can have ice and drink
cold water, Raul says.
I leave the park the next day and drive 30
miles west to the small, dusty town of Study
Butte. People have been looking for their
fortunes in the hills here since the Spanish
arrived in the 16th century, and for a time, in
the early 1900s, this was the centre of mining
operations in the region. I saddle up and ride
through dried-out creek beds and forests
of strange ocotillo plants like Dr Seuss
drawings to the remains of an old mercury
mine, rusting beside jackrabbits and pale
clinging weeds. Nearby, we find the smashed
shells of abandoned settlements
broken and sun-beaten, like old songs lost
on the wind bullet holes from the Mexican
Revolution, which ravaged this border from
1910-17, and pictographs of headdresses and
animals, stained black in the rocks by the
Apache centuries ago.
And then, suddenly, I nearly die. Up to
this point my horse, Duncan, has been a
picture of docile obedience. But when a
cute little mare appears in the distance, he
finds his courage and bolts. Hanging on to
a runaway horse, I suddenly realise, is like
doubling down during a game of Russian
roulette things are only going to get
worse. But when I try to pull my foot out of
the stirrup, its stuck. Now, theres never a
good place to be dragged on your back by
an out-of-control horse, but surely theres
nowhere worse than cactus country. So I
squeeze my legs, grab his mane, scream
John Wayne one-liners and somehow hang
on. When my guide, wrangler Kelly Straw,
finally catches up, she looks me dead in the
eye and smiles: Now you can stand Texas
tall in the saddle, she says.
December 2016
97
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TEXAS
UNITED
S TAT E S
Fort Davis
BIG BEND N.P.
i o
Marfa
MEXICO
a
G r
T E X A S
Chihuanhuan Desert
BIG BEND N.P.
Terlingua
STUDY BUTTE
50 Miles
Boquillas
CHISOS
MOUNTAINS
M E X I C O
ESSENTIALS
Getting there & around
British Airways flies nonstop daily
from Heathrow to Austin, while
Southwest Airlines and United Airlines
run connecting flights to Midland
Airport, a three-hour drive north of the
park. Alternatively, its a six-and-a-halfhour drive from Austin. ba.com
southwest.com united.com
Hiring a car is essential in this part of
Texas. Hertz has offices in Midland and
AustinBergstrom airports. hertz.co.uk
Singing ballads in Boquillas
IMAGE: AARON MILLAR. ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER
Tumbleweed towns
The mines may now be gone, but something

more interesting has been left in their wake:
Terlingua. This tiny ghost town of abandoned
buildings, on the edge of Study Butte, where
the miners and their families lived until the
1940s, has been part-occupied by off-the-grid
painters, musicians and hippy die-hards
since the 70s. Its like a cross between the
Burning Man festival and Mad Max, a kind of
post-apocalyptic artist commune stockpiling
peace and love instead of guns and ammo. I
find a miniature ranch called Passing Wind
thats home to a live-in pirate ship; an old
theatre, The Starlight, where bands still
play despite the walls looking like theyre
about to fall down; and a mansion, with
most of its roof fallen through, thats been
turned into an improbable boutique hotel
with beautiful artisan furniture and fluffy
double beds. But mostly, what you do here
is sit on the porch of the Terlingua Trading
Company, watch the sunset and drink beer.
I swap stories and bottles with glazed-eye
locals as a thunderstorm rages over the Chisos
Mountains and the entire town howls like
wolves at the storm.
A few miles up the road, the former
tumbleweed village of Marfa has similarly
transformed its image, albeit in a more
highbrow way. When the American artist
Donald Judd moved here in the late 70s
he turned a former World War II military
camp on the outskirts of town into one of
the countrys leading contemporary art
galleries, the Chinati Foundation. Its like

finding a beret in a stack of Stetsons. Six-foot
by four-foot polished-aluminium cubes are
lined up in rows where once POW barracks
stood, German writing still on the wall.
Former chemical weapons storage facilities
stand side by side with fluorescent art
installations. Everywhere is at once ethereal
and hard, industrial and yet filled with light.
It reminds me of that old cartoon of a gun
firing flowers instead of bullets.
But thats not the strangest thing about
Marfa. Just outside of town theres an
area where one of the countrys weirdest
unexplained phenomena has often been
observed: the Marfa Lights bright orbs,
twinkling, glowing and sometimes darting
across the nights sky. Native Americans
thought they were falling stars; early
explorers noted them in their journals.
They might be a Fata Morgana, a kind
of mirage caused by light reflecting off
a distant object, or some kind of swamp
gas. Or, as some here fervently hope, they
could be intelligent beings, come down
to communicate with this small rural town.
But the truth is no one knows. I spend an
hour in the dark with a group of strangers,
waiting for a sign from above. Then, just
as Im about to leave, we hear something:
a low moan, like wind in the valley. This
could be it. Then the sound continues
mooooooo! Well, you never know, a
voice next to me says, maybe that cows
getting eaten by aliens.
Where to stay
Chisos Mountains Lodge.
chisosmountainslodge.com
Big Bend Casitas. bigbendfarflung.com
Perry Mansion, Terlingua.
bigbendholidayhotel.com
El Cosmico. elcosmico.com
Cibolo Creek Ranch.
cibolocreekranch.com
Stone Village Tourist Camp.
stonevillagetouristcamp.com
More info
traveltexas.com
Big Bend National Park. nps.gov/bibe
Fort Davis National Historical Site.
nps.gov/foda
How to do it
AMERICA AS YOU LIKE IT has a
seven-night fly-drive to Texas, including

return United Airlines flights to Midland
airport, seven days fully inclusive
economy car hire, two nights at the
Chisos Mountain Lodge, Big Bend, one
night at the Far Flung Outdoor Center,
Study Butte, one night at the Cibolo
Creek Ranch, in Marfa, one night at the
Stone Village Tourist Camp, in Fort
Davis, and one night at El Cosmico, in
Marfa, from 1,555 per person based on
two sharing. americaasyoulikeit.com
NORTH AMERICA TRAVEL SERVICE
has flights from London Heathrow to

Midland via Dallas, with American
Airlines, and car rental for one week
from 998 per person.
northamericantravelservice.co.uk
December 2016
99
But even if West Texas is short on

extraterrestrials, at least its big on history.
The Fort Davis National Historic Site, 20
miles north of Marfa, is one of the best
surviving examples of an Indian Wars
frontier post in the country. In the mid-19th
century, it was one of a string of outposts
along the old San Antonio-El Paso Road,
built to guard gold-rushers making their way
to California after the boom of 1849. At the
time, it wouldve been an island in a sea of
dangers, a lonely collection of barracks and
guns surrounded on all sides by Apache and
Comanche warriors, bitterly defending their
ancestral territory.
They knew the land like we know our
Facebook profile, Kelly had said on our ride.
The most famous was Geronimo, an Apache
shaman and war leader who, with only a
handful of braves, managed to evade capture
by thousands of US soldiers for over 20
years. Its said his warriors could ambush a
regiment in the middle of an open plain and
then scatter in all directions, disappearing
into the desert like morning mist.
To walk through the former barracks,
touch the bricks and mortar and artillery,
to hear the bugle calls (played over loud
speakers) and sense how close in time these
stories really are is a powerful sensation. I
can picture the cold winters, the rations of
dried beef, nervous eyes looking out to hills,
the stables burning as native raiders raced by
on the Comanche War Trail, driving stolen
cattle into Mexico. I can feel the tension
100
among the troops: one of the first all-black

regiments, the famed Buffalo soldiers, were
stationed here and suffered terrible racial
discrimination and abuse from the officers
and population they were trying to defend.
These are important stories. But they mask
the greater loss: the Apache, the Comanche,
Geronimo a way of life that had stood for
thousands of years.
And thats whats special about the frontier
today. You can still feel it. When you think
of the Wild West, you think of here, Jessica
Lutz, a local photographer, told me. This
land is part of our pioneer past. And its still
untouched. Thats why people come here
because they can breathe.
Museums may show you the artifacts of
history, but they cant give you the emotional
connection. For that you need to be here.
You need the land, and you need it the way
it was. But that comes with a fight. Plans are
in place to build the Trans-Pecos Pipeline,
which would pump 1.4 billion cubic feet of
natural gas a day through this region. If it
goes ahead, it will irrevocably change the
character and feeling of these wild lands.
Shouldnt we keep just one place how it
was? Jessica says. Just one place, to howl at
the storm, to live off the grid, to breathe in
the sweet poetry of emptiness. Thats why
the far west of Texas is special: because the
pioneer spirit is still here, because theres
hope, because among all the progress and
detritus of modern life, theres still one
last frontier.
ABOVE: Fort Davis National Historic

Site, a surviving example of an Indian
Wars frontier post
IMAGE: AARON MILLAR
TEXAS
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Real Americas Real Adventure
Middle Eastern country? Colonial

ghost? Or island retreat? The
archipelago of Zanzibar with its
chaotic capital, Stone Town is
Africa at its most enigmatic
WILL THE REAL
Zanzibar
PLEASE STAND UP?
IMAGE: GETTY
Words C H R I S L E A D B E A T E R
102
December 2016
103
ZANZIBAR
Because at this point where Shangani

Street meanders close to the waterfront the
sheer narrowness of Stone Town is thrillingly
apparent. Each side of our taxi is within wingmirror-scraping distance of the buildings
on either side. Acclaimed by UNESCO
since 2000 as a fine example of the coastal
trading towns of East Africa, its a labyrinth
whose structures crumbly of wall, tight
of doorway and, due to its World Heritage
listing, distinctly immovable are dreamily
in thrall to the past, but utterly ill-suited to
the movement of 21st-century traffic.
So here we are, a colossal tub of clotted
cream in a blocked artery, our exhaust
fumes curdling the tropical air. My driver
spreads his hands in an expression thats less
exasperation, more acknowledgement of a
regular occurrence. Welcome to Zanzibar,
he shrugs.
The delay is not without consolations
for it gives me the chance to absorb
my surroundings. Away to the left, a halfglimpsed beach promises sandy days and the
rattle-whisper of palm trees. On the right,
a hair salon advertises its services via the
image of a woman having her tresses braided.
Behind, a mosquito whine of low-oomph
engines foreshadows the approach of a trio
of mopeds, weaving and forcing their way
through the impasse kings of the highway
104
now that everybody else is becalmed. Directly

ahead, the bumper of a minibus wears a faded
Manchester City sticker, and I find myself
wondering how long its been glued to the rear
of this petrol-powered workhorse. As I try to
decide, the afternoon sun bangs its fist, and
the mini fan stuck to the dashboard struggles
with it all, whirring, wheezing, sighing.
Much of urban Africa is here, in other
words. But then, I ask myself, am I in Africa
at all? Its not as daft a question as it sounds.
Officially, yes, Im in Tanzania the fresh
blot of bureaucratic ink in my passport says
as much. And where I sit, Im just a two-hour
boat ride from the countrys main city Dar es
Salaam, which broods 45 miles to the south, on
the mainland. But just as the English Channel
has always been a physical and ideological
canyon between Britain and the rest of Europe
(as recent events have shown), so the Zanzibar
Channel a mere 16 miles wide in its thinnest
moment has long kept Zanzibar separate
from the African continent. Indeed, its only
been part of an African country since 1964,
when insurgency overthrew the colonial
powers that had ruled for half a millennium,
and welded it to the newly forged Tanganyika
(soon retitled Tanzania).
Prior to that, itd been coveted as early
as the seventh century by Persian, Arab
and Indian sailors. It was claimed by Portugal
almost as soon as Vasco da Gama had

rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1497, before
it was snatched by Oman in 1698 becoming
a trophy so treasured that the Sultan of this
Arabian state shifted his capital from Muscat
to Stone Town in 1832. Britain had its say too,
naturally, adopting Zanzibar as a protectorate
in 1890, but leaving Oman in nominal charge
until, 52 years ago, in a revolution as
brutal as those in Cuba or Russia, a rush of
nationalism grabbed it for the modern Africa.
Even now, its semi-autonomous, with its
own president and House of Representatives.
Askance. Distant. An Indian Ocean
crossroads. A junction box between worlds.
Perhaps the traffic jam is making this case, for
as the congestion starts to ease, it becomes
clear that the catalyst was the arrival of the
ferry from Dar es Salaam travellers clinging
to what, for most islanders, is the only
affordable way to cross the chasm (you can
also fly) between mainland and satellite.
They disgorge at the docks, into taxis and
onto bikes, and into a destination thats
largely misunderstood by the outside
world which regards Zanzibar as a single
honeymoon haven of an island. In actuality,
its an archipelago of 47 scattered shards
including three big outcrops: Pemba, Mafia
and Latham, and the prime land-block Unguja
(better known as Zanzibar), on whose west
IMAGE: GETTY
Its not so much the number of

cars thats causing the jam as the
width of the road were all trying to
access. Road? Perhaps alley is a
more apt term.
ZANZIBAR
Crumbling facades in
Stone Town
PREVIOUS PAGES:
Curious onlooker in
an ornate doorway,
Stone Town
December 2016
105
ZANZIBAR
Boys share a bicycle in Stone Town

RIGHT: Stone Town local; antique carved wooden doors in
Stone Town; local woman with a henna-decorated hand
106
ZANZIBAR
coast Stone Town lies. But then, as a stew

of historic influences, is it any surprise that
Zanzibars identity is blurred? Is it Tanzanian?
Is it Middle Eastern? Is it a colonial ghost? Is it
all these things?
Maybe so. When I finally slip into the back
lanes and arrive at the Zanzibar Palace Hotel,
Im caught up in a split personality. The name
suggests a grand five-star, yet this quiet refuge
feels more like an intimate Marrakech riad.
A fountain murmurs in the lobby, elegantly
Arabic in style ornate tiles coating rounded
torso, a copper bowl on top pierced in 12
places, water trickling through the holes
and down to a pool in the floor, the sound
constant and soothing. And when I climb four
flights to a top-floor room where the window
peers across corrugated roofs to the flurry
of the port, I pass glass lanterns, hanging in
a rainbow of colours, which seem to dream
but by 2008 found himself drawn to the

clutter and chaos of Stone Town, where this
townhouse on Jamatini Road presented a
tempting opportunity for renovation. By
this time, I knew the ins and outs of life
here, Frans adds. Suddenly, thats eight
years ago and here I am.
Frans is emblematic of a place where
myriad strands of people and population are
entwined. The version of Swahili spoken
here is a royal soup, says Anjam Hassan,
an affable guide of Omani descent wholl
show me around his home town. Theres a
little Portuguese in there, a dash of English,
some Arabic, some Indian, some Bantu. Mesa
[Portuguese for table] is a word in Zanzibari
Swahili. So is fridge. Its a jigsaw.
This cultural cross-pollination is visible
in the key landmarks. Beit el-Sahel, out on
the waterfront drag of Mizingani Road, was
penitently on the site of the towns former

slave market. The adjacent sculpture of five
chained figures, stooped in a pit, is powerful.
Work on the church began in 1873 the year
the (relatively) progressive Barghash closed
this trading floor for human flesh.
But its in its intricacies rather than its
icons that Stone Town reveals its soul.
Darajani Market is the busy offspring of Africa
and Arabia swarthy men hacking at the
corpses of tuna, barracuda and dorado on
slippery slabs, amid a tumult of transaction;
craftsmen hand-stitching leather sandals
in the workshops tucked into the shaded
alleys behind. On Mkunazini Street, a
crowd has gathered outside a shop where the
mornings papers have been fixed to the wall
information disseminated without recourse
to smartphones or wi-fi. And at Jaws Corner, in
the heart of the maze, another mass of locals
of deserts and dust, of some Casablanca

courtyard. But when the bell goes for dinner,
Im sub-Saharan again. The menu of Swahili
dishes propels me from nguru masala (spiced
kingfish) and ugali (a smush of maize, akin
to mashed potato) to katles (fried mincemeat
and potato patties) and maharage ya nazi
(butter beans in a gloopy coconut sauce). The
waitress smiles at my polite English attempts
to devour this feast with an unwieldy wooden
spoon, and suggests I eat using my hands.
built in the 1890s as the Sultans residence

and recalls this era as a museum, its fabric
and furnishings having survived the cold
shoulder given to Zanzibars Omani heritage
in the three decades after the revolution. The
adjacent Beit-al-Ajaib (House of Wonders)
plays a similar card, as a delicate white-walled
palace hewn in 1883 for Sultan Barghash
thats flirted with destruction. It was struck
in the Anglo-Zanzibar War of August 27, 1896
a 38-minute British bombardment of the
town in a row over the sultanates succession
thats considered the worlds shortest ever
conflict. Next door, the Arab Fort is a sturdier
affair, founded by the incoming Omanis
in 1698, at the expense of a 16th-century
Portuguese church, as a gesture of regime
change. A short walk south, the Anglican
Cathedral issues a statement of its own, set
is seated on benches at the intersection of four

passageways. It takes its name from a mural
of said deadly fish on the side of one house
the hint being that, here, mouths tend to be
open. Townsfolk come here to talk, to drink
a coffee, Anjam says, handing me a paper cup
full of a dark brew. As we linger to sip the hot,
bitter liquid, eight people greet him. Most of
the big issues in Zanzibar are discussed here,
he adds. If you want news, come here.
It seems a scene unaltered by times march,
even as the angry pecking of drills and the
dust of restoration work being carried out
on weary properties inescapable in the
centre shouts loudly of change afoot. And
yet, when I return to the area after sunset, the
absence of much in the way of street lights
leaves the darkness between the buildings
so thick that I fear Ill lose my way.
IMAGES: GETTY
Split personality
I thought, why not? says the hotels jovial

Dutch owner, Frans Fiegge, explaining the
happy impulse that led to him running a
retreat so far from home. He came to Unguja
in 2006 to help oversee the construction of
a luxury resort in the south of the island,
December 2016
107
On Mkunazini Street,
in Stone Town, a crowd
has gathered outside a
shop where the mornings
papers have been fixed to
the wall information
disseminated without
recourse to smartphones
or wi-fi
108
IMAGE: GETTY
ZANZIBAR
ZANZIBAR
Pausing for thought in Stone Town
December 2016
109
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ZANZIBAR
I trip, eventually, into my target, The Swahili

House, another fine townhouse hotel and
survey my context from the rooftop bar.
Stone Town is all but swallowed by night,
rare patches of illumination giving notice of
an unshuttered window; boats in the port
showing themselves in the way their lanterns
bob with the tide.
IMAGES: GETTY
Out of Africa
Its difficult to say where Arabia starts to

peter out and Africa takes control. Perhaps
its five miles north of Stone Town, where
Beit el Mtoni swings between eras. Built
in 1828, as Sultan Seyyid Said prepared
to shift his capital 2,450 miles south west
to Zanzibar, its the oldest palace in the
archipelago. It also sounded a crucial note
of its history as the birthplace of one of
Ungujas most feted figures. Princess Sayyida
Salme came to life in 1844 as the youngest
of Saids 36 children, but gained notoriety in
1866 when she fell for a German merchant,
Heinrich Ruete and, pregnant, fled with
him to Hamburg. In her 1886 autobiography,
Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from
Zanzibar, she now known as Emily Ruete
described her first home as an idyll where
the little river Mtoni... runs through the
whole palace into numerous fountains, and
flows directly behind the palace walls into
the splendid and animated inlet which severs
the island from the African continent. Alas,
its now a wreck. A fire in 1914 did irreversible
damage, and the revolution compounded the
problem, with Africa intruding on Arabia
when the new socialist government used the
complex as a cement warehouse. But traces
of its majesty remain. The sultans bathhouse
and steam room still exist, although the roof
is fractured, and bats the only residents.
These echoes continue. Three miles east
in the village of Kidichi, another bathhouse
also constructed by Sultan Said, this time
in 1850 as a gesture of love to his Persian
wife, Scheherazade is in (somewhat)
better condition; its domed ceiling still
intact, even if the stained glass that once
painted its walls in many colours is gone.
Opposite, Mou Spice Farm is a reminder of
the fertility that made Zanzibar such a prize
for Middle Eastern traders; its vanilla pods
and cinnamon trees issuing a rich aroma in
the afternoon warmth.
Beyond and to the east, Arabia finally
vanishes into that African flatness that
finds itself in scrubby fields, squat farmsteads
and goats in the road. On through Kizimbani
and Kiwengwa, until this Africa fades too,
and Zanzibar becomes the romantic Avalon
of a million holiday brochures a colossal
Meli resort hugging the shoreline, the
smaller but no less luxurious Tulia Zanzibar
Unique Beach Resort eyeing the Indian Ocean
from a lovely spot on the beach just north of
Pongwe. With only 16 rooms and a tiny spa, its
Local rests in front of

a brilliant blue
door, Stone Town
December 2016
111
ZANZIBAR
Dhow on the beach in Stone Town
112
ESSENTIALS
Wete
Zanzibar
PEMBA
ISLAND
Zanzibar
TANZANIA
UNGUJA ISLAND
(ZANZIBAR ISLAND)
Dar es Salaam
LATHAM ISLAND
IND IAN
O C EAN
MAFIA
ISLAND
Matemwe
Zanzibar
Kiwengwa
Pongwe
STONE
TOWN
When to go
Kizimbani
100 Miles

Qatar Airways flies daily to Zanzibar via
Doha from Manchester, Edinburgh,
Heathrow and Birmingham.
qatarairways.com
Stone Town is best explored on foot.
Travel around Unguja by road is possible.
Hire cars are available (Kibabu Cars has
an airport office; kibabucars.com) but
youll need an International Driving
Permit, as well as a standard licence.
Taxis and dala dala minibuses are
plentiful in Unguja. Most depart from
Darajani Bus Station, opposite the
market on Benjamin Mkapa Road.
20 Miles
to this juncture how he was born in

Mwanza, Tanzanias second city, on the bank
of Lake Victoria; how he landed on Zanzibar
in 2005 hoping to find work; how he arrived
at Matemwe Retreat in 2010, unable to write,
speak English or swim. Now as Ill later
see he takes Europeans snorkelling,
diving to pluck shells from the seabed with
the liquid grace of an orca. He halts as we
reach the reef, as if realising the scope of his
achievement. And suddenly, in his exuberant
grin and his tale, Zanzibar is again what its
always been a place of people in motion,
finding their groove on the oceans edge.
Zanzibar generally maintains a

year-round daytime temperature of
28-32C. March-May is the main rainy
season while June-October is dry.
More information
zanzibartourism.net
tanzaniatourism.com
Zanzibar (Bradt Travel Guides), by Chris
and Susan McIntyre. RRP: 15.99.
How to do it
EXPERT AFRICA offers 10 days in
Unguja, with two nights in Stone Town

at the Zanzibar Palace Hotel (B&B),
three at Tulia Zanzibar Unique Beach
Resort (half-board), and three at
Matemwe Retreat (full-board).
From 2,832 per person, including
international flights from Heathrow and
all Zanzibar transfers. expertafrica.com
IMAGE: GETTY. ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER
compact, comfortable in its own skin, almost

seeming to belie the fact that it only opened
last December. But then, all Ungujas holiday
resorts are relatively new. The aftershocks
of 1964s upheaval kept Zanzibar in a frozen
state, of sorts, until the early 1990s but the
decision to abandon one-party politics in
1992 marked a change in attitude. Tourism
was encouraged, even if it had to come from a
standing start. In 1995, 56,000 holidaymakers
travelled to the islands. That figure is forecast
to crest 450,000 by the end of this decade.
This surge is visible in the phalanx of
resorts on Ungujas central east coast, but it
shows its ethical side a little further north. Not
that Matemwe Retreat outside Matemwe
village overtly wrings its hands at Africas
worries. Its a chic clifftop affair; its 17 rooms
and suites opulent in their giant bathrooms
and wide verandas. But it dates to the first
flushes of seafront breaks in Zanzibar set
up in 1989, as a clutch of just four bungalows,
by two Swedish sisters. Water was fetched
by hand until 1995; lighting was by kerosene
lamps until 1997. It retains some of this spirit
75% of employees hail from the village, and
it has an admirable policy of promoting from
within, to keep staff turnover low.
So it is that on a blazing morning I
meet Ibrahim Sherumi. Hes manning the
watersports centre a shack on the cusp
of the sand. The retreating tide has exposed
a shelf of coral, and we stride towards it,
Ibrahim picking a route through the many
spiky sea urchins that threaten to pierce a
careless foot. As we go, we talk of his journey
Seven Stars Luxury Hospitality

and Lifestyle Awards
A Travelers Choice
Hotel Winner
Luxury Beach
Resort of the Year
South
Pacific
S P I R I T
The heart and soul of the mysterious volcanic Yasawa Islands, from the watery
worlds of coral and caves to the songs of happiness and joy, sorrow and hope,
lies in the resilient communities of Fiji, who retain a remarkable spirit
Words K E R R Y V A N D E R J A G T Photographs C H R I S V A N H O V E
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December 2016
115
FIJI
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FIJI
OPPOSITE FROM TOP:
Drawaqa Island from the

boat; playing volleyball
with an all-Fijian crew
ABOVE: Secret cavern in
the Sawa-i-lau Caves
reading water and staring

up at a shaft of light that has
broken through a fissure in
the limestone ceiling, I find
myself inside a flooded
subterranean cave. On all
sides, lichen hang like
velvet drapes on the walls, while the water
itself is a shimmering peacocks tail of
indigo, emerald and teal. High above us,
symbols, like hieroglyphics, tell of those
who have come before us.
The Sawa-i-Lau caves are the spiritual heart
and soul of the Yasawa Islands, a chain of 20
or so volcanic islands off the north-west
coast of Fiji. This is where the main
islanders ancestors are believed to have
come from, and where a young Brooke
Shields led Christopher Atkins on a merry
dance in the 1980 movie Blue Lagoon.
According to local lore, to say Ive touched
the spirit of the Yasawa Islands, I need to
enter a second chamber, a secret cavern that
can be reached only by slipping under a
rocky curtain and swimming through an
underwater tunnel. Entry is tide-dependent,
but today the gods are smiling.
Dont fight, just hold your breath and keep
kicking, Captain Jitoko or Ji had told
us earlier during the safety briefing, while
handing around waiver forms. Well have
guides positioned on both sides.
I swim towards Sefo, our charismatic
barman and guide, whos treading water and
manning the hidden entrance. Trust me, he
says, looking directly into my eyes while

adjusting my mask. But more importantly,
trust yourself. My limbs are trembling, and
its not from the cold. Im scared. Like the
lion from The Wizard of Oz, Im lacking
courage the recent loss of one parent and
the ill-health of another has left me reeling.
This four-night cruise aboard Blue
Lagoons Fiji Princess is partly a journey in
search of an authentic side to Fiji, far from
the resort areas of the Coral Coast and Port
Denarau, and partly so that my husband and
I can reconnect with ourselves and each
other. Decades ago, wed honeymooned in
Fiji, so it seemed a natural choice.
On Sefos count of three I take a deep
breath, slip under the watery ledge and kick
like a mule. One kick, two kicks, and Im
through, the steadying hands of crew
member, Jona, cushioning my head and
pulling me out in a manoeuvre not unlike
birthing a baby. To Jonas satisfaction, I let
out a lusty yowl; a mix of relief and wonder as
I drink in the inky surrounds a galaxy of
light, sparkle and shadows.
Of all the things I expected to find in the
Yasawa Islands, a Bear Grylls-style dunking
wasnt one of them. Within minutes my
husband appears, his face beaming like a
schoolboy as his hand reaches for mine.
While we float around in the semi-darkness,
Jona regales us with local legends about the
young chief who kept his lover here. This
cave is the most spiritual of all, he says.
Locals from neighbouring Tamasua Village
December 2016
117
FIJI
Grove of soaring palms

OPPOSITE: Palm-weaving;
preparing the lovo
believe its the final resting place of the

10-headed ancient Fijian god, Ulutini.
Later that afternoon, well visit Tamasua
Village to share dinner with the villagers,
but first we head back to the ship to freshen
up. Refurbished in 2014, Fiji Princess is the
flagship of Blue Lagoon Cruises; small
enough to tie up to a coconut tree, big enough
to boast 34 cabins. Being a smaller boutique
cruise ship means she can sidle right up
close to the islands, taking passengers off
the beaten track and into areas where
daytrippers from the major resorts cant
reach. Exploration equipment, such as
kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, snorkelling
gear and tenders for reef safaris, bring
guests even closer to what feels like a slightly
less touristy Fiji.
Before going ashore on Tamasua Island,
were reminded of the cultural etiquette:
dress modestly with long sarongs tied over
our clothes; no hats; shoes must be removed
before entering buildings; and bring a gift
such as yaqona (kava). The final formality is
to elect a leader for when we meet the chief.
Traditionally, each Fijian villager is born
into a certain role in the family unit,
explains Jona. And each village, comprising
several family units, still has a head chief
from the most prominent family.
Our all-Fijian crew are a source of useful
insights into traditional family life. One day
118
they lead us on a hike across Nanuya Lailai

Island for lemon tea and coconut cake at Los
Tea House, pausing on the way to shop at
Grandmas shellmarket. On other days, they
take us snorkelling to some of their favourite
sites. In between, they teach us how to
prepare a traditional lovo (a feast wrapped in
palms and cooked under the earth), invite us
to play volleyball and take us fishing.
But mostly they sing for us, with passion
and pride; in the mornings, while serving
breakfast; after lunch, while resting under the
shade of a coconut tree; and in the evenings,
up on deck, strumming guitars and singing
like sea gypsies under a blanket of stars.
And if singing is a constant, so too is
Bula!, the national greeting that means
hello, good health, Im happy to see you
and anything in between. Delivered with
gusto, its a blessing of health and happiness
that we receive wherever we go. And if you
ever come to Fiji, youd better have a lusty
Bula! ready in reply.
KAVA TIME
Ive come to these islands to get beyond the

resorts, for a spot of cultural immersion
thats not merely something rolled out as
after-dinner entertainment. On Tamasua
Island the entertainment begins before
dinner and were the performers. Hitching
our poorly-tied sarongs we straggle ashore,
bellowing the visitors traditional greeting

Doh-A, Doh-A, Doh-A; our out-of-tune
rendition bringing shy giggles from the
children who have rushed out to meet us.
Our gift of kava, held aloft like a Wimbledon
trophy by our self-appointed chief, brings
even wider smiles from the waiting men.
With the sun low and lovely in the sky, we
sit cross-legged on the grass for the kava
ceremony, a relaxed camaraderie between
our Western and Pacific cultures already
well-established. Looking xacross at the
coconut trees, their trunks curved like
dinosaur ribs against the coral sky, I reflect
on how many past chiefs and tribes have
previously met in this grassy space, sharing
kava and chewing the fat in equal amounts.
Participation isnt compulsory and theres
no shame for those who choose not to try the
mildly narcotic drink Fijians are very
laid-back about such matters. If you do
partake, the rules are simple: give a one hand
clap on receiving the shell, glug it down in
one gulp, then three claps once youve
finished. Be warned, itll give you a numb
tongue and tastes like dirt, but the feeling of
relaxation is worth it.
We then join the locals in their communal
meeting hall for a dinner of plump mud crabs
in coconut milk, yams with spinach pesto
and apple fritters cooked in sticky brown
sugar. We dine cross-legged on the floor,
FIJI
December 2016
119
FIJI
OPPOSITE: A smile from

Lo at Los Tea House
CLOCKWISE: Hiking
across Nanuya Lailai
Island; lemon tea and
coconut cake at Los
Tea House; Grandmas
shell market
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FIJI
The heart of Yasawa is said to be in

the Sawa-i-Lau caves, but I found it in
the spirit of its extraordinary people
December 2016
121
FIJI
PACIFIC
OCEAN
YASAWA
ISLANDS
Yasawa-i-Rara
YASAWA ISLAND
TAMASUA
MATACAWA LEVU
ISLAND
Nabukeru
SAWA-I-LAU
CAVES
NACULA ISLAND
NANUYA LAILAI ISLAND

YANGGETA ISLAND
NAVITI ISLAND
Somosomo
BAREFOOT
ISLAND
DRAWAQA ISLAND
WAYA
ISLAND
PACIFIC OCEAN
YASAWA
ISLANDS
Vanua Levu
Namara
Viti Levu
ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER
Dance preformance,
Yasawa High School
eating with our fingers, island-style. Theres

no pretension, no show; just a simple, shared
meal rounded off by the heart-wrenching
farewell song Isa Lei. This song expresses
happiness, joy, sorrow, hope and love, says
a village elder. It means were sorry youre
departing and that we long for the time when
we shall meet again.
The next morning we anchor off Drawaqa
(or Barefoot) Island, a fluff of green afloat in
a sea of blue. Well have a barbecue here
later, announces Captain Ji. Then, as were
all nodding our approval, he adds, The
beach is the grill and youll be the meat.
As he crumples with laughter at his own
joke, I deduce this means were in for a hot
day on an exposed beach. Drawaqa Islands
stretch of sand is open to the elements, but
the beach fairies have gone ashore early,
putting up umbrellas, laying down beach
mats and setting out morning tea. But as
lovely as this is, Im keen to leave the world
above water behind.
Dubbed the soft coral capital of the world
by Jean-Michel Cousteau, the reefs of the
Yasawa Islands are perfect for diving and
snorkelling. Being largely undeveloped, the
marine environment is still pristine, with
each of the volcanic islands offering a
different experience. Dive sites with names
FIJI
5 Miles
such as Garden of Eden, Dream Maker,

Breath Taker and Fantastic Wall hint at
the riches below.
Welcome to Manta Alley, says Captain Ji,
as we glide through the tie-dyed stretch of
turquoise and emerald water between
Drawaqa and Naviti Islands. The manta rays
come here each year between May and
September to feed on the nutrient-rich
plankton. As its the first week of May, were
hoping to see some of these gentle giants, but
at the moment our lucks out.
We enter the water from the tender, with
the plan to drift on the currents and snorkel
back to shore. The water is a warm 27C, with
perfect visibility, allowing us to see every
nook of the brightly-coloured corals. Shoals
of anthias dart between elkhorn coral as we
spot starfish, sea fans and giant clam beds.
My husband reaches for my hand, leading me
away from the others to show me a patch of
rare black coral, its filaments waving about
like dreadlocks.
AFTER WINSTON
Later, a marine biologist from the island

comes onboard to give a lecture on the
marine environment. We work with dive
centres and volunteers to monitor manta ray
numbers, behaviour and habitats, says
ESSENTIALS
Air New Zealand flies daily between Heathrow and Los
Angeles with onward connections to Nadi (Fiji) with Fiji
Airways. British Airways flies daily between Heathrow
and Hong Kong, with onward connections to Nadi with
Fiji Airways. ba.com airnewzealand.co.uk
fijiairways.com
When to go
The dry season early May to late September is the
ideal time to visit. December to April is the wet season.
More info
fiji.travel
Lonely Planet Fiji. RRP: 15.99
Rough Guide to Fiji. RRP: 15.99
How to do it
BLUE LAGOON CRUISES offers three-, four- and
seven-night itineraries through the Mamanuca and

Yasawa Island groups. The four-night Wanderer cruise
(Orchard cabin) costs from 1,375 per person, based on
two sharing, while the seven-night Escape to Paradise
cruise (Orchard cabin) costs from 2,264. Prices include
all meals and guided shore excursions and exclude
international flights. bluelagooncruises.com
SOFITEL FIJI RESORT AND SPA offers pre- and
post-cruise accommodation near Port Denarau Marina,
from 220 a night in a luxury oceanside room.
accorhotels.com
December 2016
123
FIJI
Route planning
on board the
Blue Lagoons
Fiji Princess; Fiji
Princess, tied to a
coconut tree
A marine biologist from Barefoot

Island explained that they work with
volunteers to monitor the habitats
Sammy. We also count shark and turtle
numbers, report on crown of thorn sea stars,
and monitor the overall health of the reefs.
Passengers also have the opportunity to
give back to the communities they visit
through Blue Lagoons sister company
Vinaka Fiji, a volunteer enterprise and
charitable trust that assists remote Yasawa
communities in marine conservation and
school education programmes. Since Cyclone
Winston struck the islands in February,
help is needed now more than ever.
Weve been invited to visit Yasawa High
School on Naviti Island to see for ourselves
the damage done by the cyclone and to bring
donations and supplies. After stepping
ashore, where a giant-sized WELCOME sign
has been spelled out on the beach in
seaweed and shells, the first people I meet
are two British girls from Hampshire, Hattie
and Lydie, friends who are travelling the
124
world on a gap year and have somehow

washed up in the Yasawa Islands as
volunteers. Coming here is a chance to
teach the children about things outside of
their village, says Hattie. In return Im
learning how other people live.
The pair are working one-on-one with
primary school-age children, helping with
reading, writing and spelling on a programme
that has seen Grade 7 pass rates increase to
71% since its inception in 2012. While the
experience allows me to give back, Im also
expanding my own perspective, says Lydie.
Of the 300 volunteers whove signed up
with Vinaka Fiji in the last 12 months, a
whopping 70% are from the UK. Volunteers
of all skills and abilities are needed, says
vice-principal Alifereti Nasila. If you can
hold a hammer, you can help.
As we gather on the steps, the children
treat us to a spirited dance performance,
telling about their love of island life in the

Yasawas and some of the hardships they
face. While each of the islands is unique in
its own way, singing is the constant that
unites them all.
Afterwards, we tour the school, where the
damage from Cyclone Winston is still very
much evident. Theres a dormitory block
without a roof, bare slabs of concrete hinting
at buildings that were completely blown
away, and twisted, headless coconut trees
shivering like skeletons in the breeze.
Were still finding tables and chairs in the
distant fields, says Nasila. And our science
block is all but destroyed.
Still, a sign on the damaged science room
reads: Difficult doesnt mean impossible.
It simply means that you have to work hard.
Its a motto befitting of the islanders
themselves and their resilient character.
Under the brilliant blue skies, Ive become
attuned to the daily ebb and flow of island
life, from the sound of village drums
signalling the arrival of visitors to the
appearance of dolphins predicting overnight
rain. And Im reminded of how, at the start, I
was told the heart of the Yasawa could be
found in the Sawa-i-Lau caves. I actually
feels its found in the spirit of the people who
inhabit this extraordinary environment.
island hopping around
CROaTIA
Words & photographs K R I S T A R O S S O W
From the architectural beauty within Dubrovniks Old

City walls to the rocky islands surrounded by the Adriatic,
Croatias Dalmatian Coast is a natural beauty
126
December 2016
127
CROATIA
hvar
A Venetian fortress overlooks
Hvar Town, whose bustling boatfilled harbour is ideal for peoplewatching. Head to the Franciscan
Monasterys museum to marvel
at the 16th-century painting of
the Last Supper, or wander down
the narrow lanes off St Stephens
Square to discover beautiful
stone-carved balconies. Enjoy the
slow life on this sun-soaked island
by grabbing a seat at a cafe and
relaxing with the locals.
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CROATIA
December 2016
129
CROATIA
130
CROATIA
Korula
Get lost in Korulas wellpreserved Old Town. Climb the
campanile of St Marks Cathedral
to watch the sun slip into the
sea and, come evening, feel
the plazas come to life with the
chatter of conversations over
shared meals. Take in
a passionate Moreka sword
dance performance and
watch the sparks fly.
December 2016
131
CROATIA
dubrovnik
Take in everything from Fort
Lovrijenac, recognisable as Kings
Landing in Game of Thrones, to
traditional music in the UNESCO
World Heritage Site of the Old
City of Dubrovnik. For an extra
dose of sunshine, head to the
cloistered courtyard of the
Franciscan Monastery.
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CROATIA
December 2016
133
CROATIA
Walk the city walls to take in spectacular views of this stunning city. Although
Dubrovniks narrow lanes often buzz with activity, theres always quiet spots on offer
for those looking to peacefully soak up the sunshine.
134
PROMOTIONAL FEATURE
Natural
TOKYO
Venture outside Tokyos sprawling metropolis and intrepid
travellers can discover a serene side to the city, with
volcanic islands and verdant mountains providing the
perfect landscape for trekking, cycling, surfing and diving
Famous for its cutting-edge shops, museums, galleries,
clubs and Michelin-starred restaurants, cosmopolitan
Tokyo conjures up images of neon lights, gleaming
skyscrapers and bustling streets. But head outside the
city centre and visitors can explore lush mountains and a
collection of unspoilt islands, some peppered with active
volcanoes and hot springs, others fringed with palm
trees, white sand beaches and the clear blue waters of the
Pacific Ocean.
Tama
The picturesque Tama area offers visitors leafy

landscaped parks, scenic rivers, limestone caves and
mountains with walking trails and wildlife. At Mount
Takao (30 miles west of Tokyo and just 50 minutes by
train), hikers can wander among colourful wildflowers
and glimpse wild boars and monkeys, while those who
make it to the top of Mount Kumotori the tallest
mountain in the region will be rewarded with views
of Mount Fuji.
The Tama area also has many cultural attractions,
including the Ghibili Museum, which showcases the
animated creations of Oscar-winning director Hayao
Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, Japans Disney.
Find
out more
gotokyo.org/en
Visit Tokyos stand

(AS535) at World Travel
Market, London ExCeL,
7-9 November 2016.
PROMOTIONAL FEATURE
Volcanic activity
For those looking for a glimpse of life on an island with

an active volcano, Miyakejima around 110 miles from
Tokyo makes an intriguing excursion. Visitors can
tour the islands dynamic landscape
formed by 13 eruptions over the
past 500 years see abandoned
houses and buildings
flattened
by lava, and discover the
islands lighter
Minshukus are traditional,
side birds such as the
rare
family-run guesthouses or inns
Izu thrush can be found
here,
offering basic B&B accommodation.
while many tourists come
They give guests the opportunity to
to swim with dolphins in
meet a local family and experience
the waters nearby.
authentic Japanese culture. Both the
hospitality and food are legendary,
with great seafood practically
guaranteed at these
establishments.
Hospitality
Islands
The chain of islands that lie south of the capital offer

welcome respite from frenetic city life. While some are
just a few hours away by ferry, or a short hop by plane,
others are more remote; the Ogasawara Islands (620 miles
south of downtown Tokyo), for instance, require a 24hour boat journey.
For those looking for adventure, the volcanic island of
Izu Oshima (75 miles from Tokyo), has numerous hiking
and cycling trails, as well as bubbling onsen hot springs
and pools. Elsewhere, Hachijjima island (185 miles from
Tokyo) is popular with fishing enthusiasts, while Niijima
(100 miles from Tokyo) is legendary among surfers.
138
City life
PRAGUE
The Czech capital is revealing a mischievous side having
fun with its history, royal good looks and its sacred Pilsner
WORDS: Ben Lerwill PHOTOGRAPHS: Slawek Kozdras
he two castle guards march rigidly

across the cobbles on a 35C summers
day in Prague. Hundreds of heatbaked tourists look on from the shade. The
guards clump into position by their sentry
boxes then stop, in full glare of the sun.
Theyre wearing sky-blue jackets, white polonecks, peaked caps and aviator shades. And
there they stand, as upright and unmoving
as the castle behind them, while cameraphones click and melting ice creams drip
vanilla splotches onto the royal square.
A year ago, Prague Castle still the
official residence of the countrys president
was the subject of a bold piece of activism.
Three local artists, masquerading as
chimney sweeps, removed the presidential
flag from its rooftop pole and replaced it with
a giant pair of red boxer shorts. The scarlet
undies flapping in the Czech breeze were a
rather pointed rebuke to the leader, who, a
few months earlier, had also been pelted with
eggs. So much for Slavic reserve.
Prague knows all about dealing with the
vicissitudes of power. The riverside city by
most measures one of the prettiest in Europe
has experienced life as the capital of both

the Holy Roman and Habsburg Empires,
and endured Nazi and Soviet occupation,
witnessing more overthrows, crackdowns,
religious squabbles and ideological struggles
than any one place might reasonably be
expected to handle. And these days? Millions
of visitors continue to converge on its bars
and baroque Old Town, but the city still
evades an easy label.
Our mentality is sometimes a little
conservative, says Ales Stevlik, the
effervescent chef de bar at the Oblaca
Restaurant. Hes just done his best to prove
otherwise, by demonstrating his own brand
of molecular mixology. On the table around
us are sea buckthorn berries, lemonade,
vodka-and-clove gummy bears and
smoke-spewing cinnamon negronis. We
change slowly. It took a long time to get the
communist era out of our system.
Ales is one of the figures at the sharp end
of Pragues expanding food and drink scene.
Hes progressive to the point of obsession
(I wont have dilution. A recipe is nothing
without soul. You have to give it soul. Look
December 2016
139
PRAGUE
Examples of erns work are everywhere a statue of a

dangling Sigmund Freud hangs above an Old Town street,
while outside a restaurant in Mal Strana, two bronze figures
urinate incessantly onto a map of the Czech Republic
this is my lavender water, prototype five.).
Its a trait that once you go beyond the
aspic-preserved churches and synagogues
that have earned the city so many admirers
is helping to broaden and remould the way
Prague defines itself.
The time when the Czech capital was seen
as a byword for lads-on-tour weekends is
fading. Away from the centre, former mills
are becoming private galleries, street-food
markets are springing up and one-time
warehouses are being reinvented as office
space or artisan delis. Its a familiar story,
of course, but cant easily be dismissed as
a fad. Even on the restaurant terraces of
the Old Towns quieter squares, theres a
classier, more relaxed feel than in days
gone by.
Its close to one of these handsome, spirelined squares that I come across an unusual
sight one evening. Its a hot night, and
locals are laying flowers at the foot of a huge
photograph of a female gymnast. Others are
queueing to sign what, it becomes apparent,
are books of condolence. The tributes, I
learn, are to Vra slavsk, who won seven
Olympic golds in the 1960s, but was equally
celebrated for speaking out against the
Soviet invasion in 1968. She was born, and
died, here in Prague.
FOR THE LOVE OF LAGER
Ondra Lipar was six years old when the

Velvet Revolution took place in 1989. Life
in Prague before the famously nonviolent
uprising was, as he remembers it, quite
grey. Ondras parents would play rock LPs
and tell him it was best not to mention
the fact at school. He had a Mickey Mouse
T-shirt, sent by a distant relative in the US,
but was only allowed to wear it at home. Now
Ondra makes a living as a poet, editor and
photographer. The 1990s were a wild time,
he says. Imagine, everything making the
jump from being state-owned to private.
Were talking at a wooden table in Lokl
Dlouh, a cavernous beer hall stretching
140
some 200ft, end to end. Designed to resemble

similar venues from the 1970s and 1980s
all the way down to its kitsch wall-print
it plays on the unusual mixture of irony
and nostalgia that Prague holds for the
period. Theres absolutely nothing ironic,
however, about the citys love of a drink.
Beer is the one thing the government
would never be brave enough to raise the tax
on, Ondra says. The Czech Republic tops the
world list of beer consumption per capita
by some distance, and the sight of frothing
tankards being carried, cradled and chugged
is as fixed a part of daily life as the rising
and setting of the sun. At Lokl, incidentally,
you can order your beer with no fewer than
three different foam styles standard, small
or milky (mainly froth) another remnant
from the socialist era.
Ondra and I walk down to Nplavka,
the riverside promenade that comes alive
each summer evening with drinkers and
live music. There are at least five different
performances taking place. In a whitewashed
storage garage big enough for no more than
20 people, a greying hardcore band thrash
crazy-eyed through an eardrum-pummelling
set. Outside, locals are throwing frenetic
shapes to a punk-polka group, while pop-up
bars are doling out beers as fast as they can
be poured. Across the water, Castle Hill is
fading to purple in the dusk.
After an hour or so, we walk back into
town. Even in the worst times, Prague has
always been a magnet for a really active
community of creative people, explains
Ondra, as we pass one of the many pianos
positioned on the city streets for public use.
The citys cultural lineage includes heavyhitters like Franz Kafka, Milan Kundera and
artist Alfons Mucha, although contemporary
attention today tends to fall on David ern,
whose subversive sculptures dot central
Prague like naughty scribbles on an Old
Master painting.
His most notorious creations are the
giant babies permanently crawling up the
PREVIOUS PAGES: Hanging out at Naplavka, by the
Vltava River
CLOCKWISE: ikov Television Tower, with sculptures

by David ern; enjoying a drink by the Vltava River;
Lokl Dlouh; bartender at the Ppa Beer Story
PRAGUE
December 2016
141
PRAGUE
142
PRAGUE
The guards are wearing sky-blue jackets, white polo-necks,

peaked caps and aviator shades. And there they stand, as
upright and unmoving as the castle behind them, while
camera-phones click and melting ice creams drip vanilla
splotches onto the royal square
CLOCKWISE: Church of Our Lady before Tn; guard

in front of Prague Castle; dog on a Star Msto
window ledge; couple kiss beneath the Town Halls
astronomical clock
citys ikov Television Tower but other, no

less mischievous, examples are everywhere.
A statue of a dangling Sigmund Freud
hangs high above an Old Town street,
for example, while outside a restaurant
in the Mal Strana district, two bronze
figures urinate incessantly onto a map
of the Czech Republic.
Perhaps the boldest of his works, however,
is a piece positioned in a covered passage
close to the Old Town. Not far from a large,
century-old statue of Saint Wenceslas
astride a horse, ern has recreated an
identical sculpture with one major difference
the horse is trussed up by its legs and
hanging upside down, reducing the Good
King of legend to a parody of the powerful.
In Prague, it seems, nothing is beyond a little
modern reworking.
Even the citys drink of choice isnt averse
to an overhaul. In the Vinohrady district, a
bar named BeerGeek has taken the bold step
of setting itself up as a temple to the amber
nectar, only without a single Czech pilsner
in sight. In Prague, this is quite something.
A decade ago this wouldnt have worked,
says Leo, the Ohio native working behind the
bar. A craft beer bar in a nation of lagerdrinkers? No way. But Ive been living here
for 15 years and, believe me, the way they
think is changing.
The 32 taps behind him feature a zeitgeistconscious range of IPAs, pale ales and
imperial stouts. Leo explains hes one of
a large community of home-brewers now
resident in the city even going so far as
to grow hops in his garden. People take
it seriously, says Leo. I see Czech guys
arguing for three hours about the difference
between two identical beers. But like I said,
the change has been massive. In everything.
When I first moved here, youd go to the
supermarket and you couldnt even find fresh
parsley. Its a different city now.
DOWN BY THE RIVER
On the banks of the Vltava River, the

Saturday morning market is in full flow.
Organic juices are being mixed, river trout
are being prepared, farmhouse cheeses are
being portioned. A few minutes walk to
the north, meanwhile, the Charles Bridge is
heaving with buskers and pedestrian traffic.
Sunshine beats down on the scene.
The bridge is one of Pragues must-sees,
a 500-metre span of burnished cobbles,
baroque statues and held-aloft selfie sticks.
The citys inhabitants have been flowing
over its arches for more than six centuries
and, fittingly, the man the bridge takes
its name from is still seen by many as the
father of the nation. King Charles IV was
famed for his patronage of culture and the
arts. And having been educated in Paris,
he was also responsible for introducing
the Czech lands to what is today one of its
lesser-known gifts: wine.
We still have a good vineyard at the
foot of the castle, says Roman Novotny,
the young sommelier at Bokovka wine bar,
an unadorned hideout tucked away in an
Old Town courtyard. But most Czech wine
comes from Moravia in the south of the
country. The quality is high, although many
people dont know about it. There are 2,000
companies importing wine into the country
only five export it.
Wines place in Prague culture is firmer
than might be imagined. In Vinohrady,
a smart residential district whose name
translates as vineyards, stone grape motifs
still decorate the grand houses whose
wineries once covered the hills. Close by, in
the formerly gritty neighbourhood of Karln,
I meet Standa Soukup, a lean, smiley man
whose passion for a nice drop is evidenced at
his laid-back bar, Veltlin.
The mentality around wine is still very
different to beer, he says, pouring out a
December 2016
143
PRAGUE
View of Prague Castle and the Old Town from

Riegrovy Sady, in the Vinohrady district
ESSENTIALS
144
More info
czechtourism.com
prague.eu
The Rough Guide to Prague. RRP: 8.99.
LESSER
TOW N
Malostrank
Square
Pe tri n
Pa rk
Heathrow to Prague from 99.81. ba.com

BUDDHA BAR HOTEL is two minutes from the Old
Town Square and offers double rooms from 488
(435) per night. buddhabarhotelprague.com
Charles
Bridge
OL D
TOWN
J EWI S H
TOWN
Old Town
Square
Wenceslas
Square
Zizkov TV Tower
1 mile
How to do it
BRITISH AIRWAYS offers return flights from
Square
Republiky
Prague
CZECH REPUBLIC
V l t a v a
When to go
June through to September are the busiest and
warmest months. Spring and early autumn see
lower rates and fewer crowds. December and
January can get seriously cold, but offer a good
chance of seeing the city covered in snow.
Places mentioned
Oblaca Restaurant. towerpark.cz/en
Lokl Dlouh. lokal-dlouha.ambi.cz/en
BeerGeek. beergeek.cz/en
Veltlin. veltlin.cz
Bokovka. bokovka.com
Castle
Hill
R i v e r
Direct flights from various UK airports to Prague are

available with British Airways, Czech Airlines,
EasyJet, Jet2, Ryanair, Wizz Air and SmartWings.
ba.com czechairlines.com easyjet.com jet2.com
ryanair.com wizzair.com smartwings.com
Many of the main attractions in and around the Old
Town are within walking distance of each other. To
visit outlying suburbs, its advisable to use the
citys comprehensive and cheap metro and tram
system. Taxis are plentiful.
Prague
Castle
Naplavka
250 yards
ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER
glass of Moravian white. I was out having

lunch once with four friends, all of them
drinking beer. I ordered wine and they started
saying Really? Alcohol in the daytime?
and they were serious! But these days,
Prague is moving, new habits are developing.
Its why people are drawn here. Its very rare
now to find someone whose family has been
here for more than three or four generations.
One blessing of visiting Prague in a
heatwave is that the city has plenty of green
space. Among the urban expanse of high
red roofs and gothic pinnacles, various leafy
hills erupt out of the cityscape. Its on one of
these a mellow hump of parkland known
as Riegrovy Sady that I sit and stare back
across the city one afternoon. At the next
bench, a young British teacher is holding a
one-to-one English lesson with a local lady.
Below them, half a dozen youngsters are lying
on a grassy slope, mandatory beers in hand.
Way off in the distance, meanwhile, its
possible to pick out a giant red pendulum
on a hillside above the river, swinging back
and forth. Its the first time Ive noticed
it. When I ask around, I get the story. It
transpires that the Prague Metronome has
been in place since 1991 as a permanent art
installation. Whats more, it occupies the
precise spot where a 17,000-ton statue of
Stalin once stood. Today as its done for
the past 25 years it looks over the city,
ticking away the passage of time.
Back up at Prague Castle, the guards
are still standing stock-still in the fierce
sun. Theyre doing an admirable job of
staying straight-faced as people pose for
photographs at their side. But for one
guard, it looks like the strain of the weather
is starting to take its toll. Behind his
sunglasses is the focused expression of a
man who, when he knocks off for the day,
wouldnt half fancy finding somewhere
for a drink.
Celebration at The Grand Mark Prague

Mixing traditional architecture with modernity, the 15th-century Baroque building
is sprinkled with contemporary art.
Headed up by innovative chef Ondej Korb, Le Grill offers a seasonal menu
of Czech cuisine, updated every month for variety.
Unique spaces go hand-to-hand with unique events: spectacular garden parties and luxury
celebrations are specialities of The Grand Mark.
The Grand Mark Prague

Hybernsk 12 110 00
Prague 1
Czech Republic
GPS: 50513.509N,
Tel +420 226 226 100
reservations@grandmark.cz
www.grandmark.cz
City life
MUSCAT
Z
ZZ
With its imposing forts, Grand Mosque and dramatic

mountainous backdrop, Muscat is a
sand-strewn snapshot of classic Arabia
WORDS: Tamsin Wressell
146
While just an hours rain can send Muscat

into turmoil, downpours seldom happen, so
to get relief from the heat, locals sip on sweet,
milky masala tea in the summer months and
devour ice cream in the winter. Most gravitate
towards the souks, beach and harbour in
the early hours or after sunset to avoid peak
temperatures, with the streets remaining
fairly empty the rest of the time.
With the main attractions scattered
widely, Muscat is very much a car-centric
city. Its certainly worth gaining access to
some sort of vehicle, as the surrounding
wadis in the mountains are ripe for
exploring. Heading off-road to the Al Hajar
Mountains, youll find traditional-looking
villages, with lookout points along the way,
offering those dramatic beige, bone and
sandshell city views. Or, for more colour,
head in the opposite direction on one of the
many boat tours discovering the coral reef in
the dolphin-filled waters.
IMAGE: GETTY
eige. Bone. Sandshell. Looking down at

Muscat from the Al Hajar Mountains
is like comparing light-brown shades
on a swatch card. The buildings seem to come
from the same Pantone chart as the crumbling
peaks and the deserts and beaches in the
parched surrounding landscape. But things
change in the city. Look around its mosques,
souks and museums and a kaleidoscope of
colours hit the eye, from stained glass ceilings
or ornate tiled mosaics.
Unlike some of its neighbouring cities,
Muscat has a traditional look and feel. Here,
theres no forest of skyscrapers, but instead
an attractive city constructed from clay, with
structures peaking at 16 storeys. The rows of
whitewashed buildings, with their gold-leaf
adornments and ornate arched windows, hark
back to distant era. Yet much of Muscat is
newer than it seems, with the majority of the
city having been built since the Sultan Qaboos
bin Said al Said came to power in 1970.
December 2016
147
CITY LIFE
FROM LEFT: The old town

souks, Mutrah, Muscat;
the spa relaxation lounge
at The Chedi Muscat;
close up of Arabian
tiles in Grand Mosque,
Al-ghubrah, Muscat; the
worlds largest Swarovski
Crystal chandelier in
Sultan Qaboos Grand
Mosque
SEE & DO
SULTAN QABOOS GRAND MOSQUE: The
Grand Mosque certainly lives up to its name.

Welcome from 8am-10.30am, visitors leave
their shoes at the door before stepping inside
to be greeted by a magnificent, intricately
detailed rug the second largest in the
world; it took 600 women four years to weave
it by hand. Hanging from the ceiling is a
six-tonne chandelier, adorned with 600,000
Swarovski crystals that bounce the light of
colourful handcrafted mosaics.
MUTTRAH SOUK: The smell of frankincense
drifts through this labyrinth of stalls, filled
with Omani silver, gold and myrrh. The souk
is one of the oldest on the Arabian Peninsula
and visitors are encouraged to haggle for
garments and antiques. After getting lost in
the warren of alleyways, sip on sweet masala
tea from the coffeehouse by the souks
entrance (a popular local meeting spot).
148
BAIT AL ZUBAIR: It may not be as big as The

National Museum or Muscat Gate Museum,
but this private collection, found through
intricately carved teak wooden doors,
showcases Omans rich heritage and the
history of the Al Zubairs, an influential
family with close ties to previous sultans.
Their former home has been extended to
include an art gallery with a permanent
collection and an Omani-style model village.
PORTUGUESE FORTS: The imposing Al Jalali
and Al Mirani Forts were both built by the
Portuguese colonists in the 1580s to protect
their ships from attack. Theyre closed to the
public but still guard Muscat bay and have a
pleasing sandcastle quality to them.
AL ALAM PALACE: A palm-fringed avenue
leads up from The National Museum to the
gates of the blue-and-gold, cube-like Al Alam
Palace, otherwise known as Flag Palace.
In the days when slaves were brought over
from East Africa, it was said that any slave

who touched the flagpole at this spot would
be granted freedom. Today, its mostly used
for Sultan Qaboos ceremonies, but the
unusually colourful exterior of the palace
makes it worth seeking out.
MUTTRAH CORNICHE: Al Said, the Sultans
155-metre superyacht, dominates the
harbour at Muttrah where its docked most of
the year. But along the waterfront youll also
find souks, a fish market, the Muttrah Fort
and the Al Lawati Mosque. The Corniche is
particularly lively in the evenings.
AL HAJAR MOUNTAINS: Drive inland from
Muscat to the surrounding rocky mountains,
dotted with whitewashed villages and wadis.
There are spots along the mountains road
where drivers can pull over for sweeping
views over the dust-covered city below
just be sure to keep off the windy road
when youre on foot.
CITY LIFE
EAT
AL-BULBUL RESTAURANT &
COFFEESHOP: Dishes served up at this
street-side cafe, opposite the Ruwi Bus

Station, are a tasty mix of Turkish and
Arabic cuisine. Try an Omani variation on
the classic shwarma kebab something of
a local staple. Al-Jaame Street, Ruwi.
ZANZIBAR ISLAND RESTAURANT & COFFEE
SHOP: This restaurant serves favourite
Zanzibarian fare, like mohogo (cassava

and lamb in a creamy coconut sauce) and
mchicha (spinach and peanut curry), along
with a wide range of tasty rice and curry
dishes. The walls, meanwhile, are covered

in countless portraits and artifacts.
Sultan Qaboos Street, Muscat 113.
T: +968 9710 0359.
AL BUSTAN PALACE: Ritz-Carlton
has taken over what was once a private,
palatial lodging. The hotel now houses
several top-class restaurants, while
the 125ft-high domed lobby lounge is
used as a venue for high tea during the
afternoons, served to the sound of
Omani harpists. Friday brunches are
popular with expats.
ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/oman/al-bustan
Z SLEEP
ZZ
BEACH HOTEL MUSCAT: Shaped like a

ships bow, the nautical theme continues into
the dhow-shaped reception area. The rooms
and facilities here are basic, comfortable
and good value, but the real plus point is the
fact its close to Qurum Beach and a short
distance from the Grand Mosque and Omani
Heritage Gallery. beachhotelmuscat.com
CROWNE PLAZA MUSCAT: Perched on top
of a cliff edge like a cruise ship thats run
aground, the Crowne Plaza features its own
private bay and two outdoor pools. Rather
handily, it also runs a free, twice-daily
shuttle service between the Grand Mosque
and Muttrah Souk. ihg.com
THE CHEDI MUSCAT: Think manicured
lawns, whitewashed, domed buildings and
idyllic stretches of sand. A spa overlooks the
hotels private beach and its resident crabs,
while the pool is the largest in the Middle
East, at 103 metres long, with an infinity edge
spilling out onto the beachfront.
ghmhotels.com/en/muscat
Marble marvel // The

worlds largest mosaic (over
27ft high by 17ft wide) is in
Muscat. A 2010 collaboration
between 40 artists, the image
of Sultan Qaboos is made up
of over 128,000 tiles, using
marble from the mountains
and seabeds of Oman
LIKE A LOCAL
IMAGES: GETTY; THE CHEDI MUSCAT
SEEB SOUQ: Make it past the stall
crammed with caged birds (available to buy

as pets or food, if you prefer) and Seeb
Souq turns into a warren of alleyways, full
of stalls piled high with spices, pulses and
tobacco leaves. Locals head here in the
evening to stock up on meat, dates and other
provisions before heading to the beach.
BEACH IN THE EVENING: Meat and fish grilled
over charcoal barbecue (mishkak) and served
with a flatbread is one of the cheapest eats
in Muscat. Some of the best places to buy it
are the roadside joints along Seeb Beach (at
the far end of Seeb Souq), where families and
friends meet in the evening for a late dip.
SWEET SHOPS: Shopping for traditional
sweets is a popular pastime. One of these,
halva (made with honey and sesame paste), is
a symbol of Omani hospitality, often served
with spiced coffee.
December 2016
149
CITY LIFE
AFTER HOURS
COPACABANA AT GRAND HYATT
MUSCAT: Latin music and fruity cocktails

combine in this Rio Carnival-themed club
a favourite late-night spot for both expats
and visitors alike. Ask locals where to go
for a drink in the early hours, and youll
probably be pointed in the Hyatts direction.
muscat.grand.hyatt.com
ROYAL OPERA HOUSE MUSCAT: Although the
Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra performs
regularly at the countrys flagship institution
for arts and culture, traditional Omani
shows are a little thin on the ground; the
programme largely comprises international
artists. rohmuscat.org.om
TRADER VICS MUSCAT: Cocktails, live Latin
music and Mongolian barbecues draw a large
expat crowd to this outpost of the Polynesianthemed bar chain at the InterContinental
Muscat. tradervicsmuscat.com
Kumma hats in the

Mutrah souk
BELOW: The old Mutrah souk
BUY
AROUND MUTTRAH SOUK: The main
magnet for shoppers in Muscat is Muttrah

Souk, but if you take time to explore
the independent shops and stalls in the
alleyways and side streets that surround the
souk, youll find prices a little more pleasing.
The selection of shiny antiques dwindles
a little, but you can still find high-quality
Omani silver.
OMANI HERITAGE GALLERY: The Gallery is a
non-profit organisation set up to help support
local artisans and craftspeople. Prices are a
little steep but they reflect the quality of the
goods on offer. omaniheritage.com
GOLD SOUK: Glitzy gold jewellery fills the
shops by the Muttrah Corniche. But its
worth strolling the alleyways to see locals
selling tubs of dates and, a little further on,
precious stones being sold in the tangle
of streets.

P ORT OF MUSCAT
Mu t rah
B ay
Mutrah
Souk
150
Cor n i
Mutrah
Fort
G U L F
Grand
Mosque
ch
ra
Mu
MUTRAH
O F
MUSCAT
500 yards
O M A N
Al Mirani
Fort Al Jalali
Fort
MUTRAH
RUWI
OLD
MUSCAT
2 Miles
Oman Air flies twice daily, nonstop between

Heathrow and Muscat. British Airways, Gulf Air,
Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines and EgyptAir all
serve Muscat from Heathrow with one stopover,
while Turkish Airlines also does the same from
Gatwick. omanair.com ba.com gulfair.com
qatarairways.com turkishairlines.com egyptair.com
Theres a fairly new bus service that runs in
Muscat, but driving or getting taxis is the best
option. Car rental is available from the airport and
petrol is very cheap. Taxis booked via hotels tend to
have set rates, but local taxi drivers are willing to
haggle. Visitors are advised to stick to the same taxi
driver when hailing a cab, as fares although often
expensive to start with tend to get cheaper for
returning customers.
When to go
Winter (December to April) is the best time to
visit, with temperatures in the comfortable
20-30C bracket. June to August can get very
sticky, with the mercury frequently soaring
above 40C.
More info
destinationoman.com
The Rough Guide to Oman. RRP: 9.99.
How to do it
Return flights with Oman Air from 369, with
doubles at The Chedi Muscat from 390 a night,
B&B, in low season. Tours and experiences can be
booked with Viator from 26.
omanair.com ghmhotels.com/muscat viator.com
IMAGES: TAMSIN WRESSELL; GETTY. ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER
ESSENTIALS
TOP FIVE REASONS TO

CHOOSE AN ESCORTED
TOUR WITH
01 SAVING TIME
Organising your own adventure is extremely timeconsuming, not to mention stressful. Your limited
annual holiday time is valuable and it makes sense youd
want to make the most of time away.
Travelling on an escorted tour means all the
logistics and planning have been sorted for you. This
includes travelling from each incredible destination to
the next, your accommodation throughout your trip
and, more often than not, meals at each location,
meaning you can focus your energy on enjoying the
ride and making memories.
02 KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE
Learning and experiencing new things is what makes

travelling so special. Researching locations and trying
to take everything in while exploring a new place
can leave you tired and confused, especially in exotic
locations with their own, often unfamiliar, cultures and
customs. Throw in a language barrier and youve got a
recipe for a headache.
This is where travelling as part of an escorted tour
makes the most sense, as youll be accompanied by a
knowledgeable and experienced guide, who can really
bring each destination to life. Youll gain insights into
places that just wouldnt be possible on your own,
hear the history and stories wrapped around each
location, and youll often eat at quality restaurants
where you can sample the local cuisine without
second-guessing the menu.
03 SPECIALIST TIPS AND EXPERIENCES
Your guide will gain you access to sights you perhaps

wouldnt have discovered had you been on your own.
These once-in-a-lifetime experiences often turn an
enjoyable trip into an amazing one, and you can be sure
that when you return home youll have experienced
something not everyone gets to see. Also, your guide
can give you a deeper insight

into the area. Youll also
have someone to assist you
when shopping or haggling
in markets, and to help you
chat with locals. Whats more,
travelling as part of a tour
often includes skip-the-queue
benefits at major landmarks.
04 MAKING FRIENDS
Travelling is a great way to meet

new people and make friends
with fellow travellers from all walks of life. Escorted
tours allow you to form friendships with the people on
your tour, as you share each days incredible sights,
journeys and experiences. You can get to know your
tour mates as much or as little as you like, but escorted
tours have created countless life-long friendships. So
whether you bond over an authentic and delicious meal,
a striking view, or just incredible sights and smells of
a bustling new city, its always nice to have some new
friends to share a common travel memory.
05 PEACE OF MIND
Knowing all you have to do before your holiday is pack,

show up and remember your camera is a liberating
feeling. You wont have to rush through a strange
T: 0800 011 1105
barrheadtravel.co.uk/nationalgeographictraveller
152
city at 4am to catch that cross-country train, your

accommodation booking wont inexplicably disappear,
and you wont lose half a day pointlessly wandering
around with your head in a map. You can concentrate
on having fun, experiencing new things, and, most of
all, having the holiday of a lifetime before returning to
the real world.
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December 2016
153
TRAVEL TALK
TRAVEL
talk
ASK THE
EXPERTS
NEED ADVICE FOR YOUR NEXT TRIP?

ARE YOU AFTER RECOMMENDATIONS,
TIPS AND GUIDANCE? WEVE GOT
THE ANSWERS
Q // I want to take a
pre-Christmas
shopping trip with
friends. I dont want to
travel as far as New
York. Where would
you suggest?
154
Consider Lisbon. Its less than

three hours by air, well served by
cheap flights, and you wont even
have to adjust your watch (it
shares the same time zone as the
UK). Theres another good reason
to choose Portugals capital it
was cited by Post Office Travel
Money in its 2016 City Costs
Barometer as offering the best
value on the ground for British
holidaymakers, so your faltering
Brexit pound will go a little
further when converted to euros.
And then theres the fact that
shopping doubles as sightseeing
in this eye-catching city on the
Tagus. In place of the usual
uniform high-street franchises,
youll find art nouveau and art
deco buildings, as well as ancient
warehouses that once stood

on the river but have found
themselves marooned inland
by the retreating waters.
The good burghers of Lisbon
have cherished many of these
historic properties over the years,
maintaining and re-purposing
them for todays shopper, to house
indie boutiques, local fashion
labels and small businesses that
have been making handcrafted
leather, intricate rugs, divinely
scented soaps and the finest silver
jewellery, for centuries.
At Luvaria Ulisses, a glovers
shop which opened in 1925, trying
on a pair of the covetable leather
gloves is a must-do experience,
even for those not interested in
shopping. Inside this tiny shrine to
art deco, the friendly assistant

sizes hands at a glimpse before
selecting options from a wall of
mysterious drawers. Then, with a
puff of talc, he opens the fingers
and smooths the leather on to the
customers hand like a second skin.
Whats more, a pair from a range of
styles and shades can be picked up
for around 50 (44). They make
for legendary gifts.
To discover more about the
retail history of Lisbon, try the
Shop Tour offered by Inspira
Santa Marta Hotel, which
uncovers more historic stores
around the city and allows a little
time to shop for presents along
the way. inspirahotels.com
luvariaulisses.com
SARAH BARRELL
TRAVEL TALK
Q // Im visiting South
Africa on safari,
including a short visit
to Cape Town. What
kit do I need?
Q // I want to rent a
large house for 18
people in the
Cotswolds/
Gloucestershire area
for New Years Eve.
Is there anywhere not
insanely pricey?
IMAGES: GETTY
Q // Where else would

you recommend to see
cherry blossoms other
than Japan?
The secret to packing is to be able

to cope with the variation of
temperature and conditions that
youre likely to encounter, without
having to carry too much.
Pack clothing that can be
layered. Always include a
lightweight wind and waterproof
jacket, a fleece and a warm hat
and gloves, as it can get extremely
cold on early morning game
drives. Neutral coloured clothing
not only makes it easy to mix
and match outfits, but more
importantly, helps protect from
mosquitoes and tsetse flies. A pair
of long trousers and a cool
long-sleeved shirt is a must. A
comfortable pair of walking
shoes, a sunhat and a good pair
of sunglasses is also essential.
Take high-factor sunscreen
even in winter as the

African sun is harsh.
Take a good camera, binoculars
and a field guide. Other essential
items include insect repellent,
swimwear, water bottle, gel
handwash, lip balm, wet wipes,
power monkey and plug adapter,
plus a torch for use at night.
All this should be packed into
a soft-sided bag for ease of
overland travel on safari, and a
small daysack is a must.
The Cotswolds commands some

pretty heft y prices, so if you want
something affordable and flashy,
Id advise a different location.
That said, trawl the internet and
youll find a suitable hire by going
direct (try Owners Direct) or
through specialist companies Big
Cottages, Group Accommodation
or The Big Domain.
Fosse Farmhouse Cottages will
accommodate up to 22 people,
if you rent all three buildings at
a cost of around 45-55 per
person per night. Built in 1750 by

the Duke of Beaufort as part of
the Badminton Estate, Fosse
Farmhouse is located in a superb
spot just 12 miles from Bath on
the southern borders of the
Cotswolds, in the charming
village of Castle Combe, which
doubled as the film set for scenes
of War Horse.
Group Accommodation also
has a number of similar options.
fossefarmhouse.com
Try to de-stress pre-flight with

plenty of exercise, adequate
sleep and light meals.
If youre particularly nervous as
a first-time flyer, see your GP who
may, in extreme cases, prescribe
an anxiolytic like Valium.
Consider booking early and
paying extra for a seat with more
generous leg room.
Dress comfortably. Keep it
loose, light and layered, and
pack a neck pillow, eye mask
and earplugs.
Drink more water than you
usually would at least two
litres and go easy on the
alcohol and caffeine.
Walk often aisle seats will
make this easier and do foot
and calf exercises while seated.
Only those at high risk of DVT
are recommended to wear
knee-high compression socks,
or take aspirin or other bloodthinning medications.
Jetlag, especially on long-haul is,
sadly, unavoidable. Consider
making a stopover and plan a
relaxed first day of your trip.
SAM LEWIS
DR PAT GARROD
Many of us are familiar with the

sight of Japans most iconic
landscapes decorated with the
delicate pink hues of its worldfamous cherry blossom trees. But
across the sea, neighbouring
South Korea offers an equally
impressive experience.
Here too, temple complexes
come alive with the colours of
spring, bridge walkways sit pretty
beneath clouds of rustling leaves
and the mountains become
a riot of colour.
Its not just pink cherry
blossoms either, as this time of
year also heralds the blooming of
vivid yellow canola blossom
(rapeseed), deep magenta azalea
flowers and pristine white
apricot flowers.
Like the Japanese, Koreans

celebrate the arrival of spring
with a plethora of outdoor
activities that take advantage of
the milder temperatures and
gorgeous scenery, from family
picnics to music festivals. For
the ultimate cherry blossom
experience, head to the port city
of Jinhae for the Gunhangje
Festival, when blossoms hang
above the picturesque
Yeojwacheon stream and the
photogenic Romance Bridge.
The blossom season starts on
Jeju Island in mid-March and
works its way north across South
Korea until the end of April, with
numerous cities hosting festivals.
onthegotours.com
CHRIS SMITH
CARL CROSS
health corner
Q // Im taking my first long-haul
trip to New Zealand, and am a
bit nervous about how Ill cope.
Any tips?
THE EXPERTS
CHRIS SMITH
AFRICA SPECIALIST,
WILDLIFE WORLDWIDE
SAM LEWIS
CONTRIBUTOR, NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER
SARAH BARRELL
ASSOCIATE EDITOR, NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER
CARL CROSS
MANAGING DIRECTOR,
ON THE GO TOURS
DR PAT GARROD
TRAVEL AUTHOR
AND ADVENTURER
December 2016
155
TRAVEL TALK
THE GRAPHIC
THE LOUVRE: A FAST-TRACK GUIDE

HOW TO CONQUER THE WORLDS BIGGEST
MUSEUM IN A MORNING: THE STANDOUT
WORKS YOU MUST SEE ON A TRIP TO PARIS
MAKE YOUR ENTRANCE
Keen to get in as quickly as possible? You may

have to sacrifice going through the grand glass
pyramid. The entrances at Passage Richelieu
(A) or Porte des Lions on Quai des Tuileries (B)
often have shorter queues. louvre.fr
WINGED VICTORY OF SAMOTHRACE

Continue into Room 75 (French
Painting). The red room on your
right houses the Hellenistic
statue of the Greek goddess,
Nike (Victory) found in pieces
on Samothrace, in the Aegean.
F IR S T
REMNANTS OF THE
MEDIEVAL MOATS
MONA LISA
Take elevator C to the first
floor. Turn left , left again
into the Galerie dApollon.
An attendant will open the
door into Salon Carr,
home of Leonardo da
Vincis smiling masterpiece,
La Gioconda, a teeny 21x30
inch portrait of the wife of
Florentine cloth merchant,
Francesco del Giocondo.
A 13th-century
fortress on the Seine,
the Louvre became a
royal palace a century
later. The original
moats, preserved 7m
underground were
uncovered during the
building of the glass
pyramid in the 80s.
GROUND
MICHELANGELOS SLAVES
Works by Michelangelo are
rarely seen outside Italy,
but the Louvre owns these
two virtuoso statues, found
on the ground floor at the
far end of the Italian
Sculpture gallery.
VENUS DE MILO
With your back to the Sphinx, the
left-hand staircase leads to the
Venus de Milo: Grecian mother to
all Western arts female nudes.
GREAT SPHINX OF TANIS

The 4,000-year old,
24-tonne granite welcome
to the Department of
Egyptian Antiquities.
Pyramid scheme // Commissioned by President Mitterrand, designed and built by

Chinese-American architect IM Pei, the glass pyramid was completed in 1989. Its 20.6m
high and, according to the Louvre, comprises 673 panes of glass, not 666 as rumoured
156
TRAVEL TALK
HOT TOPIC
WHERE HAVE ALL THE ELEPHANTS GONE?
IMAGE: GETTY. ILLUSTRATION: DANIEL BRIGHT
WITH THE NEWS THAT AFRICA HAS SEEN ITS SHARPEST DECLINE IN ELEPHANT
NUMBERS IN 25 YEARS, IS ENOUGH BEING DONE TO SAVE THEM FROM EXTINCTION?
AND DOES THE EU HAVE BLOOD ON ITS HANDS? WORDS: JAMES DRAVEN
Despite the global trade of ivory

being prohibited since 1989, the
International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
has announced there are just
415,000 African elephants
remaining in the wild, a decline of
more than 110,000 from 2007 to
the end of 2015.
The study was released at the
17th meeting of The Convention
on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES), a treaty
signed by 182 countries and
designed to prevent the
international wildlife and plant
trade from endangering species.
Its clearly not working.
The IUCNs pan-African survey
says the huge losses are due to a
surge in poaching over the past 10
years, driven by Asias demand for
ivory products. Nevertheless,
Namibia and Zimbabwe,
supported by South Africa, made
a proposal at the summit, asking
for permission to sell off their
ivory stockpiles to international
markets, on the grounds that their
countries have stable elephant
populations.
Their request
was denied
this time.
But in the
past decade,
CITES has allowed
a one-off commercial
sale of stockpiles of
elephant ivory from
Botswana, Namibia, South
Africa and Zimbabwe, which was

completed in 2009.
They sold it to the Chinese and
Japanese markets, which just
fuelled their insatiable demand,
Nathan Kibe Gatundu, a tourism
warden with the Kenya Wildlife
Service (KWS), tells me. That was
a mistake. After that we saw a big
spike in poaching.
Kenya, in contrast, sent a
strong message about their
stance by publicly burning their
stockpile of 106 tonnes of ivory in
April this year. Despite East Africa
having lost 50% of its elephant
population over the past decade,
Kenya has seen a rise in numbers
and an expansion in their range.
Speaking at Londons Royal
Geographic Society during the
CITES conference, Dr Richard
Leakey, chairman of the KWS,
said: They should change the
organisations name to KITES:
Kill all International Trade in
Endangered Species. The wildlife
trade is such a shameful and
disgusting practice. Forget just
elephants lets ban the use of
all wild species once and for all.
Theres a minor chance it
will help them survive.
How anyone can
find a white chess
piece or a carved
ornament more
beautiful than seeing
these animals in the
wild is utterly
unfathomable. Yet,
over the past 10 years,
Q&A
WHY DID NAMIBIA AND
ZIMBABWE EVEN ASK TO
SELL IVORY?
Its complicated: all African

elephants are included in
Appendix I of CITES which
bans all commercial international
trade except for elephants in
Botswana, Namibia, South Africa
and Zimbabwe, which fall under
Appendix II, allowing that they
may be internationally traded
with the necessary permits.
However, theres an annotation
to Appendix II, which currently
forbids this. As such, all
commercial international trade in
elephant ivory is prohibited
under CITES. Namibia and
Zimbabwe wanted to remove the
existing annotations from
Appendix II.
OK, SO WHY DOES THE EU HAVE
BLOOD ON ITS HANDS?
Many African nations including

Botswana, which is covered by
Appendix II backed a
resolution that would see all
elephants elevated to Appendix
I, affording every elephant the
highest level of protection.
Incredibly, the EU and USA
opposed this. Because the EU
voted as a block, its 28 votes
ensured the bid failed.
WHAT ABOUT INDIAN
ELEPHANTS?
Theyre all protected under

Appendix I.
the illegal ivory trade has been

booming, a status symbol for
Chinas wealthy elite. But, says Dr
Cynthia Moss, of the International
Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW),
Part of the problem is ignorance.
WildAid and IFAW surveyed the
Chinese public and found that
70% didnt know elephants had to
die to get their tusks. They
thought they just fell off !
Eighty-three per cent said if
theyd known, theyd never have
bought it, so IFAW launched a
public awareness campaign in
China, starring Prince William,
David Beckham and Jackie Chan.
Apparently, its working.
Surprisingly, it was China and
the USA, who as the worlds
two biggest ivory markets
spearheaded domestic bans.
But as long as it remains legal
to sell ivory within individual
nations, the demand for poached
tusks continues. The good news is
that all 182 CITES members agreed
for the first time that all domestic
ivory markets must be closed.
But is CITES simply a toothless
watchdog? A single elephant
yields up to 10kg of ivory worth
up to 16,500. And with the
backing of international crime
syndicates, and corruption rife,
elephants remain at risk.
Progress is being made, though.
The hope is that with pressure on
countries to enforce domestic
bans, demand will start to fall and
tusks will, once again, only be
valuable to elephants.
AND ANOTHER THING PISTE POUNDS

BUDGET BULGARIA
BELLA VITA
SNOWBALLING COSTS
SWISS SEASON
GO WEST?
Bansko is the best value of

20 European ski resorts
for the seventh year
running, according to
postoffice.co.uk/my-travel/
ski-report-2016.
Local price freezes mean

Italys four main ski
resorts are the cheapest
of Europes Big Four
France, Austria,
Switzerland and Italy.
Local prices in the

Austrian and French
resorts surveyed are up a
respective 20% and 26%
on last season, with Ellmau
in the Tyrol still good value.
While Switzerland remains

the costliest European ski
destination, local prices
are on par with last year,
considering sterling/franc
exchange rates.
North American resorts

have seen significant local
price rises. The weak
pound also makes Canada
and America pricey
choices this ski season.
December 2016
157
TRAVEL TALK
THE PODCAST
News in Slow in various

languages. Free. iOS/Android
7
ways
to
LEARN A LANGUAGE
ONE OF THE MOST USEFUL SKILLS IN THE TRAVELLERS REPERTOIRE,
A FOREIGN LANGUAGE CAN HELP YOU MAKE FRIENDS, UNLOCK A
CULTURE AND GET YOU OUT OF TROUBLE. BUT WHERE TO START?
1. HAVE A GOAL
THE BOOK
Language Hacking by Benny

Lewis. RRP: 11.89. amazon.co.uk
and Italian, have many words in common with

English as result of shared Latinate sources.
Action, nation, frustration, tradition,
extinction, and thousands of other -tion
words are spelled the same in French
(although pronounced differently). Switch that
-tion to a -cin and you have the same words
in Spanish. Italian is zione and Portuguese is
-o. In any language, loan words are your allies;
they should be quick and easy to memorise.
Its all very well making the grand New Years

resolution to learn Mandarin. But without
realistic, short-term objectives, youre likely
to flounder. For example, if your first goal in
learning Spanish is to chat to locals in bars,
make a learning plan that includes questions
and opinions about popular conversation
topics like music and football. The key is
to break down your language acquisition
into achievable milestones and tailor your
practice accordingly.
5. MEMORY TECHNIQUES
If youre having a hard time getting key words
to stick, try to glue them in your brain using a
visual mnemonic. Picture the meaning in a
dynamic, colourful and weird way that links to
its translation. Also, when you come across a
new word, try using it a few times right away in
different sentences. Studies show using words
flexibly activates different parts of your brain.
2. GET WITH THE TECH

Dont throw away the text books just yet, but
do embrace the world of smartphone apps.
There are a lot of fun and addictive resources
to tap into. Combine a language course app,
such as Duolingo, Busuu or Babbel, with
a flashcard app for vocabulary, such as
Memrise, AnkiApp or Tinycards, and practise
with native speakers on chat platforms,
including HelloTalk or HiNative.
When abroad, keep Google
Translate or iHandy Translator
in your digital arsenal.
3. VIRTUAL IMMERSION
THE ELECTRONIC DICTIONARY
Ectaco Partner Lux 3. From

349.95. ectaco.co.uk
THE APP
Google Translate.
Free. iOS/Android
158
Living abroad is not a

prerequisite for learning a
foreign language; theres
nothing in the air that will
magically make you fluent. The
useful bit being exposed to
everyday language can be
replicated wherever you are
through TV, film, radio,
podcasts and music. Having
a Brazilian soap opera on while
you commute or cook, will
help tune your ear to the
cadences and pronunciation.
4. START WITH COGNATES

Romance languages, such as
French, Spanish, Portuguese
6. PRACTISE SPEAKING EARLY ON
There may never be a time when you feel

ready to begin conversing, so
find a conversation partner
and jump in, using whatever
phrases you know. Companies
Put these tips into
such as Conversation
practice alongside one
Exchange can set up
of International Houses
language courses. It has
conversation lessons with
native speakers via Skype.
158
language schools in
50
countries worldwide,
including
IH Schools in the UK.

Choose from
33
languages.
For information about
International House,
visit ihworld.com
7. LEARN TO SOUND MORE NATIVE

Fillers are the words and
phrases people say all the time
between sentences. In French,
an example might be alors; in
Spanish, pues; in Japanese,
so desu-ne. They dont
always mean much, but
peppering your conversation
with these flourishes will make
you sound native, and buy you
precious, face-saving time to
think while formulating your
sentences. AMELIA DUGGAN
IMAGE: GETTY
CHECKLIST:
LANGUAGE LEARNING
TOOLS
TRAVEL TALK
Tech traveer
TECHNOLOGY REPORTER FOR @BBCCLICK

AND AUTHOR OF WORKING THE CLOUD,
KATE RUSSELL PICKS THE LATEST INNOVATIONS
TOP APPS FOR...

winter sports lovers
SECURITY ISSUES
Terror attacks are a concern for any sensible traveller,
but they shouldnt stop us exploring the world
Having suffered repeatedly of

late, the French government
released the SAIP app on iOS/
Android (interieur.gouv.fr), to send
alerts to anyone in the vicinity
of an attack. But the
usefulness of
these apps rely on
relaying
information
immediately and,
as was shown
during the Bastille
Day attack when it
took 90 minutes
for notifications to
be received, they
cant be relied
upon to keep
people safe.
If youre caught
up in a terror
attack or natural
disaster area,
Facebook app users will
get a notifi cation asking if
theyre OK. The Safety Check
feature (facebook.com/
safetycheck) works automatically
if you have location services
turned on. You can also use it
to check on any friends who
might be in danger.
When a lot of people try to get

online from the same location at
once, data network traffic can get
overloaded, preventing connection.
Flayre (flayreapp.com) overcomes
this by letting you send
your detailed
whereabouts to up to
three contacts via
SMS. By granting
them permission
during set-up, they
can find out where
you are at any time
by texting the word
flayre to you.
The International
SOS Assistance app
(internationalsos.com)
is worth a download
to keep you up to
date on travel
security and where to
get help in your
location. But the most reliable
source of safe travel information
has to be the UK Foreign Office
website (gov.uk/foreign-traveladvice). To save you checking
frequently for changes you can
use Visual Ping (visualping.io) for
email notifications when anything
is edited on the site.
SLOPES
IOS. FREE. With the winter sports season upon us,
Slopes lets you keep a note of your mountain runs,

recording altitude, speed and even any wipeouts.
Just turn on the app at the start of the day and it
knows when youre not on the slopes, powering
down to conserve battery life. getslopes.com
FATMAP
IOS/ANDROID. FREE. 3D maps of all your favourite
adventure locations, winter and summer. This app

will help you get to know the slopes like a local.
fatmap.com
SNOWBUDDY
IOS/ANDROID. FREE. Along with piste maps, this
app has a handy yodel feature so you can nd

your buddies on the mountain when its time to hit
the apres-ski. snowbuddyhq.com
ARCTIC CAT EXTREME SNOWMOBILE RACING

IOS/ANDROID. FREE. If you cant make it to the
slopes, this fun little game will have you trickjumping your way through powder snow and
across mountain gaps on the rush-hour commute.
concretesoftware.com/web/games/arcticcat
GET THE GADGET

Noke padlock
Imagine the scene: youre off on
holiday, with everything locked
up safely back at home. But then
you get a call from your neighbour
saying their cat is trapped in your
garage. At this point youve got
two choices. You can either give
them permission to break down
the door or let the poor cat starve
until you get back... Unless youve
used a Bluetooth padlock, which
is unlocked
through its
proximity to a
smartphone app
(iOS/Android/
Windows).
Along with
eliminating the need
for yet another key on
your ever-growing bundle,
the Noke Bluetooth padlock
allows you to
share access
through the app,
which also
tracks who,
when and where
it was opened.
Its a solid piece
of kit, made of
boron-hardened steel
with waterproofing protection.
According to the makers, the

replaceable CR2032 battery
should last for one year with
regular use, though extreme
temperatures can shorten its life.
noke.com/products/noke-padlock
Also available on amazon.com
and firebox.com for 59.99.
@katerussell
katerussell.co.uk
December 2016
159
TRAVEL TALK
HOW I GOT THE SHOT
PRAGUE
LIKE THIS? READ MORE
AWARD-WINNING, LONDON-BASED SLAWEK KOZDRAS, THE

PHOTOGRAPHER OF OUR PRAGUE FEATURE, EXPLAINS HOW HE
SHOT THIS ATMOSPHERIC IMAGE OF THE VLTAVA RIVER
The key challenge on each

assignment is to capture the spirit
of a place. In this case, the task
was both figurative and literal as
my brief was to include shots of
the role of alcohol in Czech
culture. Prior research and
planning proved very useful, but,
as usually happens, my favourite
shot was a chance encounter.
Ahead of the trip, I lined up
a list of destinations to visit,
including a bar called Pipa Beer
Story in the old town, one early
Saturday evening. When I arrived,
hardly anyone was there, despite
an impressive list of beers on tap
and in bottles. The bartender told
me that on a beautiful warm
evening like this one, locals
usually gather along the Vltava
160
This shot came out at

ISO 1100, with Prague
Castle well-exposed
against a purple sky
and the rest of the
scene reduced almost
entirely to shadows
except for the red of
a girls top and the
wine in a plastic cup.
River. He recommended going

to Naplavka, south of town, to
get a feel for Prague summer
drinking culture.
By the time I got to the river, the
sun was already down, but the sky
was still bright. As Id expected to
photograph people having a good
time in the evening light, Id
changed from my standard
28-70mm f.2.8 lens to a 50mm
f.1.4 lens, which I usually use for
night shots and portraits. I set my
camera to manual mode, with f.1.4
to isolate interesting people or
scenes from the crowd, and a
speed of 1/250 sec to make sure
the shot was sharp. I also spot
metered to ensure the precise
point I focused on was wellexposed, but to account for the
This feature can be found in our

new free, digital-only Photography
Magazine. iOS/Google Play/Amazon
fact that I was shooting at night,

I wanted to underexpose the
image. With the very high
aperture, I didnt have to worry
about the grain and left the ISO on
auto mode I generally dont
tinker with the ISO apart from
setting 6400 as the maximum
level the camera can go to.
I like this image because
it shows two sides of Prague
the timeless, stately elegance
of the iconic castle in the
background, and a group of
young people enjoying a drink
on a beautiful evening. The
scene distills my experience
into a single image.
slawekkozdras.com
@slawekkozdras
COMING IN THE
JAN/FEB ISSUE
Cool list 2017

Having searched the earth for next years top trends
and headline-hitting destinations, our writers pick the
17 best places to visit in 2017 (and maybe a few more)
IMAGE: GETTY
Plus // Bangkok, France, Peru, Los Angeles,

Malta, Beirut, Brisbane, Athens, Norfolk
On sale 1 December 2016

For our latest subscription offers,
see page 176
December 2016
161
OPERA FOR BEGINNERS
o, can you name any

famous opera singers?
The Three Tenors.
Whos the little one?
I think thats Carreras.
A pause.
Any female opera singers?
Another silence. A glance out
the train window.
Does Katherine Jenkins
count?
Five minutes later: You know,
Im sure Simon Cowell has an
opera group
It seems surreal, I know, but we
really did have this conversation
en route to Veronas Arena Opera
Festival, one of Europes most
prestigious opera showcases. Im
almost embarrassed to recount
our words.
Its fair to say, where opera
is concerned, Im something of
a novice. I often visit Italy, and
Ive lost count of the number
of times Ive been to Florence,
where the first opera was written
and performed in the late 16th
century. But when I have a spare
evening here, I pick Fiorentinas
football stadium, not the citys
new auditorium. In fact, Ive
never, ever been to an opera.
Not that Im totally lacking
culture. For example, Im
reasonably knowledgeable about
the Sienese School of painting,
which is pretty obscure. And I do
enjoy hearing people sing live,
but my tastes are more Foals,
Jack White and Sharon van Etten.
Maybe I just need enlightening?
Perhaps my attention span simply
shuts down after 90 minutes
162
plus stoppage time? Either way,

an escorted trip peppered with
talks from a real tenor seems one
possible remedy.
At the welcome drinks, music
host Paul Badley introduces
himself. Spectacularly. Im sipping
a Prosecco and saying some
hellos when Paul cracks into an
a cappella aria, right there in the
bar. I vaguely know the tune, but
have no idea what its called. This
will become a recurring theme.
My fellow travellers lie mainly
in the 60-plus bracket. I think
were the only newbies here, but
everyone is friendly, enthusiastic,
and sympathetic to our state of
operatic ignorance. Thats one
prejudice smashed already; I
expected the trip to be populated
by an intimidating, upper-crust
group of buffs. Thats who
goes to opera, isnt it? In truth,
everyone seems normal. They
just share a love of the music
and spectacle. But I quickly
conclude that, if Im ever to ask
a question more intelligent than,
What happens at an outdoor
performance if it rains? Im going
to need to do some homework.
An education
Day two, and I find myself by the

pool with the Classic FM Handy
Guide: Opera downloaded
hastily over breakfast. Theres no
shortage of distractions at our
hotel, including a golf course and
organised wine-tasting excursion,
but Im staying focused. The
opening chapters explain what
opera actually does uses music
to bring to life the emotional

content of a story. It introduces
Carmen, which well be seeing
the following night. When it
premiered in 1875, audiences and
critics were shocked by its violent
realism and sensuality. That
sounds promising. Theres even a
helpful chapter on dos and donts
at the opera. I make a mental note
that loud sobbing could distract
your neighbours in the audience,
as the guide advises.
Ive also found Carmen on
Spotify. Its three-hour running
time is nothing unusual: Wagners
Die Meistersinger clocks in at five
hours, 15 minutes. But less than
an hour in, Im struggling. Theres
clearly a story unfolding, and I
cant follow it. I can barely even
tell its being sung in French.
(Another discovery they have
operas in French! I thought they
were all in German or Italian.)
At lunch grilled fish from
Lake Garda, washed down with
a little too much white wine I
raise my worries with Paul. He
reassures me: Carmen is great
for first-timers, because it has so
many memorable tunes.
I also learn a little of Pauls own
backstory. An affable, workingclass lad from the Northeast
bang goes yet another
stereotype he was inspired to
sing by an enthusiastic choir leader
at his Teesside comprehensive. He
busked his way around Europe in
the 1980s, singing opera, operetta
and show tunes. His career as a
freelance tenor has taken him
to prestigious opera stages,
Hollywood soundtracks and

into a teaching role at Selwyn
College, Cambridge.
What if I dont enjoy Carmen?
Dont give up, advises Paul.
Different composers have
different strengths. Hear some
Mozart, some Verdi; Rossini,
Puccini. Make sure at least one is
a comic opera. Then decide.
On the big day, we gather
for Pauls presentation. Every
performance on our trip is
preceded by a talk from the music
host, to give us a feel for what to
expect and some key moments
or tunes to listen out for. He
leads us through characters
and plot (spoilers are essential
for a novice), and points out
where librettists Henri Meilhac
and Fromental Halvy changed
Prosper Mrimes original
novella, when they wrote the text
for Carmen, the opera, to sharpen
dramatic tension. They beefed
up the role of Escamillo, one of
the rivals for Carmens affections,
and their lyrics create a heady mix
of Andalucian passion, jealousy,
violence, melodrama and
bullfighting. Theres not a lot of
laughs, Paul jokes. Still, Carmen
wasnt a hit when first performed
in 1875. Its composer Georges
Bizet died later that year. He never
saw it become a smash.
Carmen needs to be sex on
legs, Paul continues. We have to
believe the other protagonist, Jos
a soldier who falls for her is
instantly smitten to the point of
folly. He then sings us two of Joss
arias, and explains how these
IMAGE: ALAMY
DONT KNOW YOUR BIZET FROM YOUR PUCCINI? CANT TELL YOUR CARMEN
FROM YOUR LA TRAVIATA? THEN PERHAPS A FEW OPEN-AIR ARIAS AND
A UNIQUE ITALIAN SETTING WILL BRING OUT YOUR INNER AFICIONADO
WORDS: DONALD STRACHAN
Performance of Carmen at
Arena di Verona
December 2016
163
WELLNESS
SUPERIOR
HOTE L
V E R O N E SI
L A TO R R E
WEDDING
LET YOURSELF BE AMAZED!

w w w. h o t e l ve ro n e s i l a t o r re . c o m
VERONA, Italy
FREE SHUTTLE BUS

TO VERONA OPERA FESTIVAL 2017
ROOM
BEGINNERS OPERA
Rossini Opera Festival

performance
propel the story towards a tragic,

violent end. I feel thoroughly
briefed. My great fear, until now my
expectation that Ill hate opera
is being replaced by nervous
anticipation. I cant wait.
IMAGE: STUDIO AMATI BACCIARDI
Historic backdrop
Our venue is to be the Arena

di Verona, built by the Romans
around AD 30. Its modern
history is intertwined with the
festival. In 1913, renowned local
tenor Giovanni Zenatello was
giving friends a tour around the
amphitheatre when he sung a
few bars. He quickly realised its
acoustics were something special,
and so inaugurated a summer
season for opera lovers. Its been
running ever since, with breaks
for the two World Wars. Although
long popular with travellers,
the festival has always catered
primarily to a Veronese audience.
Clapping and cheering Bravo!,
Brava! is the norm, although
Im told the knowledgeable crowd
will boo something they dont like.
We arrive a few hours ahead of
kick-off (is that the right word?),
giving us time to explore a city
that grew up in the Roman era
at the junction of two important
highways. It blossomed again in the

late medieval period, when ruling
dynasties like the della Scala and
Visconti families built fortifications
and embellished churches. They
left a legacy of Romanesque
architecture and gothic tombs
thats largely survived.
Right in the centre, the Palazzo
Forti is a former residence of
both Napoleon and the AustroHungarian marshal, for whom
Strauss composed the Radetzky
March. It now houses the Arena
Museo Opera (aka AMO), a small
gallery space dedicated to the
history of Veronas festival. There
are posters and playbills and old
photos of costumed performers
from the last century. One room
is occupied by a festival timeline
stretching from 1913 to 2013.
Year by year, it lists the operas,
directors, tenors and sopranos.
Even I can pick out Maria Callas,
a soprano who sang Violetta in
La Traviata in 1952, then Ada the
following year. Any opera geek
would be in clover. In a small
screening room, we pause to
watch a couple of classic arias
from recent festivals.
Its a delightful half-hour, but
does leave me wishing I was going
Id always encountered opera as a package of

greatest hits, sometimes over-camp, always sung
obscurely in a foreign language, and completely
divorced from any story. But I realise now that
opera has to be heard and seen. Its a story
to see Ada. Verdis blockbuster
was the first opera performed at
the Arena in 1913, and is still the
one most closely associated with
Verona. Carmen wasnt far behind,
first appearing in the 1914 season.
Showtime
The orchestra begins to play, but

the set remains hidden from view,
behind ragged drapes seemingly
torn from an Andalucian gypsy
caravan. When these are drawn,
Id need a fish-eye brain to take
in the visual spectacle in one go.
Were in a Seville town square
in the early 1800s, at least one
as imagined by director Franco
Zeffirelli. Its initially hard to pick
out the protagonists among a cast
of (literally) hundreds, including
at various points two horses
and four donkeys.
Then Carmen arrives. She
announces herself with one
of operas most famous arias,

Lamour est un oiseau rebelle
(Love is a rebellious bird),
popularly known as Habanera.
The tune is familiar, with its
tango-like staccato rhythm; I
just didnt know its name or
where it came from. The lyrics
keep looping a reminder: Si je
taime, prends garde toi (If I
love you, watch out for yourself).
Clearly, Jos wont be following
that advice.
Its jaw-dropping that
someone could fill this enormous
space with just her mezzosoprano voice. Theres no mic
amplification for singers at the
opera. When Joss childhood
sweetheart, Micala, sings soon
afterwards, I immediately spot the
contrast with Carmens voice. Not
just that shes a soprano and so
is singing in a different vocal range
but that their voices have a
December 2016
165
BEGINNERS OPERA
Rossini Opera Festival
Italys top summer opera
ARENA OPERA FESTIVAL

With 13,500 seats, Arena di Verona
means this festival gets the largest
audiences. Tickets from 20 (18)
to 200 (180). In 2017, the lineup
includes Nabucco, Rigoletto and
Ada. 23 June to 27 August. arena.it
PUCCINI FESTIVAL
A sublime setting, beside
Puccinis villa at Lake
Massaciuccoli. Expect La Bohme,
Tosca and more. Mid-July to
mid-August. puccinifestival.it
ROSSINI OPERA FESTIVAL

New stagings and revivals of
Rossini operas in Pesaro, the
seaside town of his birth. 10-22
August. rossinioperafestival.it
SFERISTERIO OPERA FESTIVAL

Held at Sferisterio, an outdoor
theatre in the pretty hill-town
of Le Marche. For 2017, theres
Turandot Madame Butterfly and
Ada. sferisterio.it
TERME DI CARACALLA
From late June to August, Romes
opera season moves outdoors
to ruined third-century baths
originally built for Emperor
Caracalla. operaroma.it
166
completely different quality.

Paul had explained that this
contrast between innocence
and worldliness was critical to
the plot, and I spotted it. Micala
isnt even in the original novella,
but in the opera she serves as a
foil to Carmen. Im hearing and
understanding this, yet just two
days ago I was a total novice; Id
even assumed (wrongly, of course)
that opera composers wrote the
words as well as the music.
I occasionally glance at Englishlanguage surtitles, displayed
off-stage on a large digital board,
but Pauls plot precis is holding up
under pressure. Plus I understand
so much by watching the acting. I
hadnt realised its importance to
opera. Im so transfixed, I hardly
notice when, at one point, the
stage almost empties, leaving just
Carmen and Jos to sing a duet.
Bravi! someone hollers from
the cheap seats. The locals are on
form, too.
I get sucked further into the
plot, as fate, Carmens dedication
to brutal honesty, and an
undercurrent of violence drive
us towards the denouement.
You need stamina: the opera
starts at 9pm but the short final
act doesnt begin until after
midnight. By then, Ive dispensed
with the surtitles. Finer plot
points are starting to matter
less. Jos chooses violence, and

Carmen ends in tragedy.
Chatting with others on
the way back to the bus, Im
delighted to discover my own,
uneducated assessment that
Anastasia Boldyreva and Alida
Berti, as Carmen and Micala,
respectively, stood out was
also the consensus. Quite by
accident, I seem to have had a
valid opinion about an opera.
Lying in bed, still pumped after
the performance, Im working out
where Ive been going wrong. I
suppose Id always encountered
opera as a package of greatest
hits, sometimes over-camp,
always sung obscurely in a foreign
language, and completely divorced
from any story. But I realise now
that opera has to be heard and
seen. Its a story. Context and
narrative are as critical as voices
and melodies. It demands a
suspension of disbelief, certainly,
accepting its quirky conventions
and taking a story on its own terms.
And in that way, its no different to
sci-fi or a zombie movie.
I never expected to enjoy
opera. But thanks to Pauls
inspiration, and the right travelling
companions, thats changed. I cant
imagine returning to Verona and
not seeking out a ticket. Ada is on
again next summer. Ive already
checked the programme.
HOW TO DO IT
SAGA HOLIDAYS has a sevennight 2107 Arena Opera Festival
package from 1,329 per person.
Includes accommodation
at the four-star Active Hotel
Paradiso & Golf, return flights
and transfers, all breakfasts,
two lunches and five dinners,
two operas, three concert talks
by a music host, two trips, hotel
porterage, and optional travel
insurance. saga.co.uk/verona
MORE INFO
AMO. arenamuseopera.com
Classic FM Handy Guide: Opera,
by Robert Weinberg. RRP:
9.99 (hardback).
tourism.verona.it
operabase.com
IMAGE: STUDIO AMATI BACCIARDI
MUSIC BY MOONLIGHT
INTERRAIL: ALL ABOARD?

F
or those who love travel,

the Interrail pass is the
equivalent of a golden
ticket to Willy Wonkas
Chocolate Factory. It gives you
the chance to roam freely on
Europes vast rail network and
who wouldnt want that?
In recent years, the scheme
has seen phenomenal growth,
rocketing from 100,000 passes
sold in 2005 to over 250,000 in
2015, with the fastest increase
in the over-26 age group, who
now make up one quarter of total
sales. Yet a myth persists that
Interrail is just for youngsters.
When the scheme began
in 1972, only those aged 21 or
younger could buy a pass. By
1979, that had been raised to 26;
which was how it stayed until
1998, when the age limit was
finally abolished. The idea we
always try to counteract is that
Interrail is only for the youth
market, says Silvia Fischer, sales
& marketing manager at Eurail
Group GIE, the company that
168
runs the scheme. Even though

it hasnt been that way for nearly
20 years, this reputation can be
hard to shake off. People often
think: That sounds nice what
a shame that Im out of the age
range, when actually theyre not.
These days, fares are based
on three age bands: youth (25 or
under); adult (26 and over); and
senior (60 or over). For a monthly
Global Pass, giving access to
all 30 countries, the youth fare
is 441, the adult fare is 576
and the senior fare is 519. Last
year, to encourage more multigenerational travel, Interrail
introduced family passes that
allow an adult or senior to take
up to two children aged four to 11
for free.
The change in the rules to
make anyone eligible has been
accompanied by the introduction
of a range of shorter-length
passes and cheaper ones with
fewer days of rail-travel included.
The move away from a one-sizefits-all has definitely been one
factor fuelling the popularity

of the passes, says Silvia.
This allows people to travel
on shorter itineraries if they
want to.
Disaffection with flying and
a desire for the romance and
adventure of rail travel is helping
to fuel the popularity among
older people too, says Maria
Cook, general manager at rail
travel specialist Ffestiniog
Travel. The combination of
shorter passes and an increase
in high-speed lines has made it
easier for people who cant take
a long break to get on board,
she says. Faster trains put many
more destinations within reach,
with journeys that some years
back would have taken twice
as long.
Overnight journeys have
also always been an important
component of Interrail itineraries.
Night trains enable you to get
further sooner, because you
dont need to keep breaking your
journey with hotel stops and
RIGHT: Bernina Express

train crosses the
Landwasser Viaduct on
the Albula Railway, a
UNESCO World Heritage
Site, Switzerland
IMAGE: ALAMY
INTERRAIL IS STILL WIDELY PERCEIVED TO BE ONLY FOR YOUNGSTERS, BUT THE RAIL
PASS IS FOR ALL AGES AND FOR SOME JOURNEYS PARTICULARLY ON SLOWER,
REGIONAL ROUTES THEYRE THE SMARTEST OPTION. WORDS: DANIEL ELKAN
December 2016
169
The highest 4-star

hotel in the Alps.
B E S T- P R IC E
PA C K A G E S
YOU WILL FIND

ONLINE!
www.hotel-riml.com
Ski- und Golfresort Hotel Riml . Hochgurgler Strae 16 . A-6456 Obergurgl / Hochgurgl
Phone: +43 (0) 52 56 / 62 61 . Fax: +43 (0) 52 56 / 63 10 . Mail: info@hotel-riml.com
INTERRAILING
you can sleep while you travel.

Plus theres a certain romance
to overnight travel, too, says
Poul Kattler, of Back on Track,
a pan-European network that
campaigns to improve crossborder European train traffic.
However, the last few years
have seen the axing of many
night-train services by train
operators to cut costs. Many
within the industry view this
as a short-sighted move. Fast
daytime trains are all very well,
says Poul, but night trains
perform a different role and
it would be devastating for
Interrailers and other
travellers to lose the possibility

of these overnight journeys.
Value for money
So, is Interrail good value?

According to rail expert Mark
Smith, founder of rail guide
The Man in Seat Sixty-One,
the pass soon starts to pay for
itself if youre visiting several
places in one trip. However, if
youre willing to book well in
advance, some point-to-point
journeys are cheaper to book
separately. Direct with the
operator, advance-purchase
fares such as Amsterdam-Berlin
from 39 (35), Berlin-Prague
Interrail is superb
for slower journeys;
it preserves total
flexibility, you can
stop off on a whim,
and you can savour
the serendipitous
diversions that come
with slow travel
IMAGE: ALAMY
Main hall, Oslo Central

Station, Norway
or Prague-Vienna from 19 (17)

blow passes out of the water
price-wise, as long as you dont
need the flexibility, says Mark.
If buying one or two advance
tickets bumps your required pass
duration down from a 10-day one
to a five-day one, that can save
quite a lot.
Its also worth noting that the
Interrail pass doesnt give you
carte blanche to travel on the rail
network, as certain trains require
advance seat reservations. Its
really the fast trains in France,
Italy, Spain, Portugal and Sweden
that are the problem, with a
reservation at roughly 10 [9]
a pop for almost every train
going any distance, says Mark.
But in Switzerland, Belgium,
the Netherlands, Germany,
Austria and most of Central/
Eastern Europe, a reservation
is optional.
To make it easier to plan and
book, Interrail has a free app with
journey schedules preloaded,
so you can look up timetables
without needing to be online, as
well as a seat-reservation system,
(for which youll need to be
connected to the internet). The
Interrail website allows you to filter
journey searches to avoid trains
that require reservations, too.
Theres a perception that its
only in recent years Interrail
travellers have had to contend
with compulsory reservations.
Thats a myth, says Nicky
Gardner, co-editor of travel
magazine Hidden Europe. There
was never a time, not even back
in the early days of Interrail,
when you could just hop on any
train without having to bother
with reservations and roam
anywhere in Europe at will.
However, the requirement
to reserve is a barrier to really
experiencing what Interrail
FIND THE RIGHT PASS
INTERNATIONAL PRICES
If most of your itinerary is simply exploring one country, then simply buying a onecountry pass, plus point-to-point rail tickets to that country, may be a better value.
All prices are for adults, standard class, within a one-month duration.
DURATION
GLOBAL PASS PRICE
5 DAYS IN 15 DAYS (FLEXI)
230
7 DAYS IN 1 MONTH (FLEXI)
274
326
403
COUNTRY
3 DAYS
4 DAYS
6 DAYS
8 DAYS
FRANCE OR GERMANY
177
194
247
273
15 DAYS CONTINUOUS
360
SPAIN OR NORWAY
151
172
223
259
22 DAYS CONTINUOUS
421
ITALY OR SWITZERLAND
129
163
217
262
1 MONTH CONTINUOUS
545
December 2016
171
INTERRAILING
Travelling on the Iron

Ore Line, from Kiruna to
Narvik, Lapland, Sweden
can be about, Nicky argues.

Booking onto fast trains
sacrifices serendipity for speed,
committing you to a fixed
itinerary. Travellers often think
that if they dont cover a lot of
distance and stick to fast trains,
theyll not be getting the best
value out of their Interrail pass.
But best value can be
measured by the level of
spontaneity that surrounds
a journey, and the level of
engagement you have with your
surroundings, other rail travellers
and local communities. Journeys
undertaken in that manner can
be immensely rewarding.
Indeed, where the Interrail pass
really comes into its own is on
slower journeys and rural routes
where there are few cheap deals.
Dynamic pricing means great
offers on busy routes, but shift to
lesser-used routes and you may
well find that old-style, distance-
based tariffs are the only option,

says Nicky. Interrail is superb for
such slower journeys; it preserves
total flexibility, you can stop off
on a whim, and you can savour
the serendipitous diversions that
come with slow travel.
Mark Smith, of The Man in Seat
Sixty-One, couldnt agree more.
He first used the Interrail back in
1984, making the pilgrimage from
London down to Athens. Since
then, the proliferation of low-cost
flights has enabled travellers to
cheat the long distances by flying.
In doing so, Mark argues, they
completely miss the point. If
people jet to places and only then
use an Interrail, theyre missing
out. Back in the 80s, the whole
point of an Interrail was to get you
from the UK to Morocco, Greece,
or wherever in the first place
epic journeys, real adventures.
EasyJet passengers dont exactly
have an adventure, do they?
The best value can be

measured by the level
of spontaneity that
surrounds a journey,
and the level of
engagement you
have with your
surroundings, other
travellers and locals
MORE INFO
The Man in Seat Sixty-One.
seat61.com
Hidden Europe.
hiddeneurope.co.uk
Voyages SNCF.
voyages-sncf.com
Europe by Rail: The Definitive
Guide for Independent
Travellers, by Nicky Gardner
and Susanne Kries. Thomas
Cook Publishing (RRP: 15.99).
Interrail passes are available at
railway stations across Europe
and at interrail.eu
Ffestiniog Travel.
ffestiniogtravel.com
Interrail passholders receive a
free rail map of Europe, but its
worth buying Rail Map Europe
(published by European Rail
Timetable Limited for 10.99),
with far more detail and a
clearer insight into routes.
FIVE DAYS WITHIN 15 DAYS GLOBAL PASS
15 DAYS WITHIN 30 DAYS GLOBAL PASS
ROUTE: London-Paris-Grandvaux
-Lucerne-Innsbruck-MittenwaldLindauHeidelberg-London.
COUNTRIES: France, Switzerland,
Austria, Germany.
IN SUMMARY: Takes in many
of the major sights celebrated
by English travellers in the
immediate post-Napoleonic
War period, including Paris,
Lake Geneva, the Swiss Alps, the
Austrian Tyrol, Bavarian Alps,
ROUTE: London-BrusselsBremen-Aalborg-Oslo-KongsvollTrondheim-Narvik -HarstadBergen-Fredrikstad-Copenhagen

-Berlin-Grlitz-Zernez-Varenna
-Mantua-Menton-CassisLyon-London.
COUNTRIES: Belgium, Germany,
Denmark, Norway, Sweden,
Switzerland, Italy, France.
IN SUMMARY: Visit a swathe
of European landscapes,
172
Lake Constance, Black Forest,

Rhine Gorge.
TRIP HIGHLIGHTS: Day trips
by boat to Chteau Chilon
and on Lake Lucerne, walking
through Lavaux vineyards,
violin workshops, visiting
Heidelberg, in the Black Forest,
with its castle ruins.
RAIL SUPPLEMENTS: Not required
for journeys on the Continent.
PRICE: Adult, standard class: 230.
from the Arctic Circle to the

Mediterranean. Includes four
major capitals (Brussels, Oslo,
Copenhagen, Berlin), but also
stops in smaller communities.
TRIP HIGHLIGHTS: Cologne
Cathedral, Port of Hamburg,
overnight boat trip to Bergen,
with its pretty Old Quarter,
Copenhagen and Christiania.
RAIL SUPPLEMENTS: Not needed.
PRICE : Adult, standard class: 403.
IMAGE: ALAMY
WE COMPARE TWO INTERRAIL ADVENTURES
V E N I C E S I M P LO N - O R I E N T- E X P R E S S , E U R O P E
BE PART OF THE LEGEND

E M B A R K O N T H E WO R L D S G R E AT E S T J O U R N E Y
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TRAVEL FOR THE ARTS
ENJOY AN UNFORGETTABLE HOLIDAY

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STAR LETTER
Travel safe
The perceived threat of terrorism in

Septembers Travel Talk struck a poignant
note with me. We visited Egypt in 2014.
Having heard all the lively stories of cruises
between Aswan and Luxor, we were taken
aback by our 36-passenger ship hosting only
eight people (including two guides). We
had the grand temple of Edfu completely
to ourselves and the horse carriages were
standing idle.
I travelled to Kenya with my 12-year-old
daughter two weeks after the Mombasa
shootings in 2014 and saw perceptible relief
in the face of my guide as he picked us up
from the airport. Friends thought that we
were going out of our minds when we visited
Jordan in May 2016. In all these travels we
have never felt unsafe; in fact, our guides
and locals alike have gone out of their way to
convince us that travel in their land was safe.
On a philosophical note, no place is ever
guaranteed to be safe. Accidents can happen
everywhere. Its sad when terrorism achieves
just what it wants by isolating a country or
region from the rest of the world. Travellers
perform an invaluable function by bringing
people together, understanding cultures
and linking countries more than any
diplomatic treaty could ever achieve. Let us
hope as a travel community that we never
forsake a place on perception alone but give
the local people a chance to demonstrate their
warm hospitality. NANDINI CHAKRABORTY
Ive just spent five weeks working and

travelling in Uganda and I want people to
know what a wonderful place it is. The country
is stunning and diverse and easily rivals Kenya
or Tanzania for wildlife and scenery, from the
Big Five to the steamy mountains. What really
stood out for me, however, was the warmth,
kindness and humour of the people. Everyone
I met went out of their way to make me feel
welcome and make my trip so incredibly
memorable. It has long stepped out of its dark
historical shadow and deserves to have its
time in the sun. LINZY ELTON
Picture-perfect Paraty
Paraty is exactly as described in your 24-hour

Paraty People feature in the September 2016
issue. It has such a relaxed vibe and is so easy
on the eye: the cute whitewashed houses
with vibrantly differently coloured doors
and shutters are gorgeous. Its the place to
buy beautiful unique gifts and treat yourself
to something special. We visited the four
main churches, harbour, theatre and Fort
Paraty. Casa de Cultura is particularly worth
a visit, if only for the innovative way items are
displayed. Make sure to follow the gold
trail and go on to stay at the Hotel Solar
do Rosrio in Ouro Preto,
where you can pick up
your gems!
JULIA WARDELL
Twee twee
twitter.com/natgeotraveller
Memorable meals or favourite dishes to try in India?
@CAROLAHENSHAW Chai & a little sponge cake for breakfast at Air Force Base after helicopter rescue from
Himalayan floods in Ladakh in 2010 // @SUPS86 Chaat and bhang in Banaras (Im an Indian and have never been
there yet!) // @CONNORJMCGOVERN Would love to try traditional Amritsari fish fry! // @AMELIADUGGAN Rubyred paneer butter masala with poori and fresh raita, devoured roadside in Vellore SEE OUR INDIA FEATURE, P.74
Hashtag your Instagram pics with #NGTUK for your chance to be our Photo of the Week
@NATGEOTRAVELLER
#NGTUK
@nciorogan
@englishmum
@nowbecomingthen0
@playingwithsid
December 2016
177
GET IN TOUCH
our Pictures
We give you a theme, you send us your photos, with the

best published in the next issue. This month is Hawaii
the theme of one of our November 2016 features
The winning image by Kristina Stamp caught our eye with its stark landscape and
rule of thirds considered composition. The metaphorical rising from the ashes is
visualised with the new home and green plants emerging from the destructive lava.
NOW OPEN
The theme: 'Peru'.

Upload your high-res image
(one for each category only),
plus a sentence describing your
shot, to ngtr.uk/yourpictures
by 10 December 2016.
THE PRIZE
The winner will receive

the Sony HX90 the
worlds smallest digital
camera. It brilliantly
integrates a ZEISS
30x optical zoom lens, a
clear retractable OLED
Tru-Finder, and an LCD
monitor that tilts back.
RRP: 399. sony.co.uk
W I N N E R
1 KRISTINA STAMP // WISBECH, CAMBRIDGESHIRE:
This was taken close to Kaimu Beach on the Big Island.

Hot lava owed here over 25 years ago, destroying
everything. People are now rebuilding their lost homes.
2 NICK ADDY // SOUTH CROYDON, SURREY: In Maui, a
luau (traditional feast) takes place against the backdrop
of another seductive sunset. Performers entertain with
age-old stories told through music and dance.
3 ALUN PERKINS // BALLOCH, WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE:
This was taken from Waikiki Beach, Oahu. Id decided to

spend a few hours walking and taking photos; the surfer
and the galleon came together at just the right time.
To nd out more about the next theme, to enter
and for T&Cs, visit NATGEOTRAVELLER.CO.UK
178
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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
RAYMOND WEIL is proud to be supporting Swiss sailing team
Realteam as its Official Timing Partner and to introduce a new
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freelancer collection

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154 Travel Talk

Reader offers from

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