Malaria is found in over 97 countries, and the 125 million international travellers who visit these countries each year are at risk of catching it.
With a focus on prevention, we bring you an infograph with 10 ways to prevent getting the disease, wherever you are in the world.
Dear Globies, friends and fellow travellers,
Welcome to the Spring eNewsletter with tips, news and discounts as always.
We hope many of you have been enjoying the digital edition of Globe magazine, If you’d like to read a free sample, please sign up here.
If you would like to help edit the eNewsletter or even just submit stories please get in touch.
Happy travels.
The drive up from the city had been both disorientating and familiar. It is strange to see in the same panorama both the turquoise ripples of the Mediterranean and mountains heavily laden with flashing snow, petering out to a light dusting of castor sugar lower down. Familiarity emanated from the solid traditional houses of creamy stone and orange roof brick, windswept Grecian trees with branches of smoke tendrils, green poplars. All the signs were in Arabic and the dust of the Middle East was in the air, yet it felt like Southern Europe. And Lebanon is in fact the perfect balance between these two worlds.
India has a reputation for transforming people. Since I returned just a week ago I have had 2 people ask me how I think it has changed me. I didn’t know how to answer. Well, this was my 4th visit, and also travels to other countries have had a huge impact on me… how was this different? I am older and more experienced than when I travelled to Israel and Turkey when I was 23 years old and up for adventure, change and expansion of my world view and I underwent tremendous personal growth. But maybe the countries themselves were not the main catalyst
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The city break is a phenomenon of our times, and the ability to jet off to a foreign city for two or three nights has broadened all our horizons. In recent years the “hot” destinations have gradually moved from Western European capitals to edgier cities further east or south; as each gets taken over by stag and hen parties in search of cheap booze the cognoscenti move on to the next big thing.
The popularity of a city for a short break is very dependent on the availability of a direct flight from the UK on a low cost airline; cities which may be fascinating to visit but which lack a direct connection thus tend to stay under the radar.
I visited such a city in May 2019 and want to urge you to go there before it is discovered; it has an oceanside location, wonderful baroque architecture, inexpensive hotels and restaurants, many museums and galleries and a stupendous opera and ballet theatre with tickets for less than a tenner. I’m talking about Odessa, on the Black Sea coast of southern Ukraine.
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From Mardi Gras and exploring the historic French Quarter to cocktail themed tours there is something for everyone in New Orleans, a place where centuries old architecture is the backdrop for all ventures. Here are 10 reasons why visitors should visit in 2017.
1) It is easier than ever to get there…
From 26th March, 2017 British Airways will launch a four times a week service from London Heathrow to New Orleans. The route will be operated by a three-class Boeing 787-8, with return fares starting from £599. This service marks the first direct flights from London to New Orleans since the early 1980s.
2) The city is a culinary adventure
In a city with more than 1,400 restaurants to choose from, New Orleans offers a variety of cuisines. From foodie festivals, street food, cooking schools and restaurants galore, there are endless options available that are sure to take taste buds on a culinary adventure. Local chefs and restaurants are constantly evolving, utilising local and seasonal ingredients that reflect the uniquely diverse culture of New Orleans.
Some of the best cuisine is showcased during the annual COOLinary New Orleans Restaurant Month each August, with restaurants offering special discounts.
3) New Orleans is one big stage
It is said that in New Orleans, music echoes from every corner. The city is the birthplace of jazz and a mecca for gospel, R&B and ultimately, the rock and pop many love today. Musical magic is alive on the streets and in the clubs of New Orleans. Witness an impromptu live performance on Royal Street, experience unbelievable live musical performances from intimate venues on Frenchmen Street to places like the Smoothie King Center.
4) Mardi Gras
For a few weeks in the early part of each year, dozens of brightly festooned, themed Mardi Gras floats carrying krewe royalty, celebrities, and masked members lead marching bands and riders on horseback, flambeaux carriers and others through the streets of New Orleans. They bestow beads, doubloons, and other prized trinkets to millions of revellers witnessing “the greatest show on Earth.”
Carnival season officially begins January 6 every year and continues through Fat Tuesday, which falls on the day before Ash Wednesday. This year’s parades will take place between January 6th and 28th February, 2017. Click here for the 2017 schedule.
5) A lot more reasons to party!
Celebration is at the core of the New Orleans’ experience, and to get a true taste of the city, every visitor should join in one of these unforgettable festivals. Whether it is music, food or the arts one loves (or all of the above), they’ll want to join in as New Orleans lets its hair down and declares, “laissez les bons temps rouler!” (let the good times roll). Visit this page for a calendar of events. Many of these are free – French Quarter Fest, Satchmo SummerFest, Po-Boy Preservation Festival, Wednesdays at the Square and, and of course, Mardi Gras.
6) Free things to do
New Orleans offers a plethora of free activities to choose from. Walk among the centuries-old oaks of City Park, picnic in the picturesque Audubon Park or enjoy views of the Mississippi River at Woldenberg Park. Stroll along Bourbon Street, Frenchmen Street and Fulton, where jazz pours out onto the street, or duck into a club for the full experience. Many clubs don’t even charge a cover. Explore New Orleans neighbourhoods and their connection to jazz with six self-guided Jazz History Walking Tours. Click here for a list of free things to do in New Orleans.
7) New Orleans will host NBA All-Star 2017
New Orleans has been selected to host NBA All-Star 2017. The 66th NBA All-Star Game will be played on Sunday 19th February, at Smoothie King Center – home of the New Orleans Pelicans. This will mark the third time New Orleans has been the site of the league’s annual midseason celebration, having previously hosted the event in 2008 and 2014.
8) Visit the River Road’s plantation homes
The River Road is an easy jaunt from New Orleans. This is where visitors will find several majestic plantations including Oak Alley, San Francisco, Laura, Destrehan, Houmas House and more. These homes will sweep visitors back in time with period furnishings, folk art and craft demonstrations, lush gardens, landscapes and more.
9) Cocktails and brews
In New Orleans, a great drink is just as important as a great meal. New Orleans’ signature drinks are almost as famous as the nightlife bars and hot spots that make them, check out this list for a list of New Orleans cocktails and where to enjoy a Sazerac, Hurricane or French 75. There are cocktail walking tours which tell you the history of the city whilst you taste some of these classics and you can even bring your drink from one bar to the next in a “cup to go”.
Beer enthusiasts should not miss the 8th annual NOLA on Tap Beer Fest. The one-day event, taking place in New Orleans City Park in September is the largest event of its kind in the region and allows beer aficionados to sample more than 400 local, regional and nationally homebrewed and microbrewery beers.
10) Museums
From food, culture to music, New Orleans has a museum for every scholar at every age. Learn about the cuisine of South East Louisiana at the Southern Food & Beverage Museum, celebrate fine arts at New Orleans Museum of Art, ride a hummer during the WWII Museum Victory Theatre’s 4D cinematic experience and discover where Mardi Gras is made at Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World, the largest float-building warehouse in the world.
For a comprehensive list of museums please visit this page.
11) Lagniappe (A little something extra)
New Orleans is the perfect gateway to the rest of Louisiana and the Deep South, where visitors can enjoy beautiful state parks, a plethora of historic sites, take airboats tours in the bayous, and get a closer taste of the Cajun culture, and so much more.
Visit this page for a 3 days itinerary of New Orleans.
For more information, please visit www.neworleanscvb.com, @NewOrleansCVB on Twitter, ‘like’ on Visit New Orleans Facebook and follow us on Instagram (VisitNewOrleans). Or visit www.louisianatravel.com, @louisianatravel on Twitter.
Dear Globies, friends and fellow travellers,
Welcome to the Spring eNewsletter with tips, news and discounts as always.
We hope many of you have been enjoying the digital edition of Globe magazine, If you’d like ti]o read a free sample, please sign up here.
If you would like to help edit the eNewsletter or even just submit stories please get in touch.
Happy travels.
Ah. Definitely don’t travel there, I heard everywhere. It is too dangerous. Drugs, mugging, highway robberies and kidnapping. You are crazy. I roll my eyes. Maybe I am. However, is the current situation in Europe really so peaceful that it is better to stay here and not to explore other places? Apart from horror media news, do not forget to add to your list that this Central American country (borders on Mexico, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador) lies in a seismically active region so earthquakes, volcano eruptions, floods and hurricanes are not rare either.
Guatemala was currently not in the viewfinder of my travel lens because I do region hopping and I considered Central America covered for some time after my recent visit to Costa Rica. It is a destination that found me. And got under my skin right when I first stepped on the Guatemalan land after crossing the Belize-Guatemala border on a boat. Same with my heart. Love at first sight. I remember it as if it was this morning. I am standing in a harbour, trying to hide from the scorching rays of the Guatemalan sun, our captain passing my backpacks to me and I immediately feel an incredible energy. Genius loci has spoken.
You can find here towns with fast food restaurants and conveniences of the modern world as well. However, I visited places where the time has stopped. Places where traditions and everyday life bring you back to pre-Columbian times. Places where laundry is done as in times of our grannies. Places where women in traditional clothes carry goods on their heads. Places where men in wellington boots, cowboy hats and machetes under their belts walk quietly through the villages or leave for work on coffee and corn fields on decks of pick-up trucks. Places that let you day dream.
It would never come to my mind that this country, somewhere in Central America, could be so liveable. Quite frankly, I could imagine settling down here. In a country of active volcanoes set between the Pacific and Caribbean coasts where you can meet Maya people (right, they have not disappeared anywhere). Country that is rightfully enlisted on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Country of archaeological treasures of Maya sites of world importance hidden in lush jungles and beauties of colonial era with cobblestone streets and buildings from the times of Spanish rule. Country of quiet fisherman’s villages on the bank of mirror lakes, with descendants of African slaves or located high in the range of Cordillera mountains. Country of colourful markets, delicious tastes and places which are still not on pages of guide books and will hopefully not be seen on tourist maps for a lot longer. Country that suffered in a civil war, which ended in late 90s, for 36 years. Country where Chapín(a)s (how Guatemalans call themselves) will, despite their difficult experience, infect you with friendliness, politeness, willingness to help and unhurried way of life. For me, Guatemala is a pearl in terms of variety, closeness to indigenous people and authenticity. It is so unique. Forget the pointless European stress, chasing a higher fence and greener grass. Let me take you to Guatemala
Read more stories and see more pictures by Leninka Modrooká at:
It’s early morning to the west of Bamiyan in the highlands of central Afghanistan. There is fresh snow on the mountains, and a crowd is huddled together in the cold air. A couple of pickups are mounted with heavy machine guns, and uniformed men hover, clutching their rifles. We are waiting.
A whistle is blown, the pickups set off, and the crowd scatters. We all run.
Sometime around 2003, I received an invitation to visit Afghanistan – I’m still not sure how it reached me, but supposedly it was from the Minister of Tourism. I didn’t go, and over the subsequent years, I assumed it would never happen. Too far, too difficult, too dangerous. Always somewhere else to travel instead. But in late 2015, a few clicks on the internet led me to talk of a ‘Marathon of Afghanistan’ – the first ever attempt to stage such a thing in such a place…
This story is featured in the Winter 2017 issue of Globe (free to all members).
Hand and Shears Travel Talks.Wednesday 3rd May.
Anthony Britton: Vietnam. Travelling by road and rail in 2007 and 2009.
Anthony’s journeys took him from the cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh to the mountainous Cao Bang area along the Chinese border and the dramatic limestone karst scenery of Ha Long Bay.
Venue: The King’s Head, 13 Westmoreland Street, Marylebone, W1G 8PJ. Time: 7.30pm. Sugested Donation: £3. Nearest tubes: Baker Street, Regent’s Park, Warren Street, Oxford Circus, Bond Street. All about a 10 minute walk. Hot food: Not available. Please eat before you come.
I’m not absolutely certain why we decided to add on a side trip to Panama when we visited Costa Rica, but in many ways it was the highlight, despite the money shots of the sloths and toucans.
The essential ingredients were a vibrant modern city with a historic Spanish quarter and a modern airport and airline making it the best hub for the region, just as much wildlife as its westerly neighbour, and, of course, the Canal. Although we didn’t sample them, there are also beaches and islands to die for.
Continue reading this story in the Winter 2017 issue of Globe (free to all members).
If you are looking to make a difference while on holiday this summer, Uganda Lodge are looking for volunteers to help with various projects, from working with children at the school to aiding in the new medical facility. Such opportunities can be a great way to make friends, get fit, and become immersed in a new culture while seeing a new part of the world and benefiting local communities.
Opportunities last from a few days – great for combining with gorilla trekking, say – to longer term projects, and profits from staying at the lodge are ploughed back into the community projects. For more information visit ugandalodge.com
Aged about 10 years old, I was lying on a sofa that had been moved into the middle of my parents’ living room so a major spring clean could take place. I was exempt from working as I was recovering from measles. The radio was on and the subject being discussed was kibbutzim in Israel. I announced that is where I was going to go when I grew up. I was perplexed that everyone thought that funny and ridiculous. 12 years later, a four year contract I was in came to an end. I was in my early 20’s and this was the mid 1970’s. None of my friends were interested in travelling but I had not forgotten my 10 year old vision.
Continue reading this story in the Winter 2017 issue of Globe (free to all members).
Morocco has so many hidden gems and it has been a popular location for the filming of many movies because of its vast and interesting terrain. It is located in Northern Africa bordering the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean and it is also known as the Kingdom of Morocco. With a subtropical climate and extreme heat in Summer it might be a good idea to travel during Spring to avoid the heat waves.
There are so many hidden gems in the country and a variety of things to do including mountains, deserts and beaches which is why we have made a detailed 7,000-word insider’s guide to the 100 best things to do in Morocco, a country of many hidden gems. From the Erg Chebbi dunes to the snake charmers in Marrakech, Morocco has something to offer everyone.
Link: https://www.jenreviews.com/best-things-to-do-in-morocco
Here are some interesting websites from the World of travel that eNewsletter readers have sent in.
Upcoming talks in London are:
Saturday, May 6th, 2017
Saturday, June 3th, 2017
See London Meeting Programme for futher details.
Upcoming talks in Chester are:
See chesterglobetrotters.co.uk for futher details.
The next meeting is on May 26th 2017 at Old York Tower, 85 The Esplanade ( corner of the Esplanade & Church St.) – two blocks east of the Union station.
See https://globetrotters.co.uk/local-meetings/toronto-ca.html for details
Nothing spoils a vacation or foreign trip quicker than that sinking feeling or realization that something is wrong and you have left yourself exposed to a personal dilemma while you are a long way from home.
It might be easier to travel the globe than ever before but amidst all the excitement of planning for a new adventure on foreign soil, you also need to pay attention to how to stay safe while travelling.
This guide looks at how to prepare for your travel and how to reduce the odds of facing a worst-case scenario that could not only threaten to ruin your vacation but leave your personal safety at risk.
Here’s the link – https://upgradedpoints.com/stay-safe-while-traveling/
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Drop us a line: enews@globetrotters.co.uk or leave a comment.