Patong is a beach resort town on the west coast of Phuket Island, facing the Andaman Sea in the southwest of Thailand. Its sandy, crescent beach is lined with cafes, restaurants and bars. The famously raucous nightlife scene features beer bars, go-go bars, nightclubs, massage parlors and cabarets that overflow into the street along neon-lit Bangla Road and in the Patong OTOP Shopping Paradise complex.
Category Archives: Travel
Front Covers: Country Life Magazine – March 2
Views: Saving The White Rhinos Of South Africa
Poachers kill at least one rhino a day in South Africa. Their horns are in huge demand on the black market, and are worth more than gold. Anti-poaching squads are now increasingly better equipped: with night-vision equipment, drones and thermal imaging cameras.
Covering some 20,000 km2, Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It’s home to the biggest population of white rhinos in South Africa – and also the highest number of rhinos killed by poachers. One major problem for ranger teams is their small size in comparison to the vast area of territory involved. Another is the widespread poverty in the many villagers bordering the park – and it’s here that you ultimately have to begin if you want to win the battle to save the rhinos.
Vince Barkas has 30 years’ experience working in wildlife conservation, and little confidence in the current system’s effectiveness in protecting rhinos. In 1992 he founded the anti-poaching unit “Protrack”. Its teams operate in the Greater Kruger, which includes private wildlife reserves neighboring the national park.
Over the decades he says he’s seen no change, despite rangers being better armed and equipped, and wants to see new options: “We’ve shot poachers, arrested poachers, beaten up poachers. Everything. But we’ve never sat down and spoken.” Vince Barkas believes in the power of dialog rather than violence. He and his son Dylan made their way to Mozambique – where many of the poachers who kill rhinos in the Kruger National Park hail from.
Their journey takes them to the town of Massingir, where Barkas Snr. first began talking to poachers a number of years ago. The problem, he says, is rooted in the very concept of wildlife conservation: “We’ve made wildlife a rich white man’s thing – where white people hunt and benefit from it, and go to lodges etc. And we’ve kept black people out of it – behind a fence. We’ve got to change that approach.”
Travel & Culture: Route 66 America’s Heartland Road
The historic ‘Mother Road’ of America is Route 66. It has connected Chicago and Los Angeles across eight states and four time zones since it was opened almost 80 years ago. It now provides a nostalgic and entertaining journey through a dramatic and exciting period of American history.
From Chicago in the east to Los Angeles in the west, there is only one direction in songs, novels, and for Route 66 lovers. This fabled route snakes its way through the gorges of the city at Lake Michigan before becoming a rural road for about 4000 kilometres across “Small-town America.” In many parts, Route 66 still looks like a museum from the 1930s and 1950s. This three-part series delves into the rich and historic route that has come to resemble a piece of American history, geography, and faded American ambitions from the past.
City Walks: Al Sabkha District In Dubai, UAE (4K)
Historic Al Sabkha is a labyrinthine district around the glitzy jewelry stores of Deira Gold Souk, with stalls piled high with oud and frankincense in the neighboring Perfume Souk. The Women’s Museum – Bait Al Banat examines the role of women in the UAE, and there are rare photos of Dubai’s development since the 1960s in Dubai Municipality Museum. Along with hostels, Arabic cafes and tea shops line narrow alleys.
Wilderness: Yellowstone National Park Celebrates 150 Year Anniversary
Yellowstone National Park is a nearly 3,500-sq.-mile wilderness recreation area atop a volcanic hot spot. Mostly in Wyoming, the park spreads into parts of Montana and Idaho too. Yellowstone features dramatic canyons, alpine rivers, lush forests, hot springs and gushing geysers, including its most famous, Old Faithful. It’s also home to hundreds of animal species, including bears, wolves, bison, elk and antelope.
Walking Tours: De Pijp In Amsterdam, Netherlands
Bohemian De Pijp’s narrow streets are lined with Middle Eastern eateries, old-school pubs and cafes with sidewalk terraces. Gregarious stallholders at Albert Cuypmarkt sell Dutch specialties like herrings and waffles. In a former brewery, the multimedia Heineken Experience chronicles the history of beer making and offers tastings. Also in the area, Sarphatipark features English-style gardens with ponds and meadows.
Tours: Venice Carnival 2022 In Piazza San Marco
Venice Carnival is one of the most famous carnival celebrations in the world. Every year 3 million people descend upon this floating city to soak up the iconic scenery, admire the extravagant costumes and masks, and be part of an electric atmosphere.
There is no other place in the world that celebrates carnival like Venice, and everyone must experience it at least once in their lifetime!
The 2022 Venice Carnival dates will run Saturday, 12th February 2022 – Tuesday 1st March 2022.
Venice Carnival always finishes on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday which is the last allowed day when one can indulge in gluttony, excess and debauchery, before the 40 days of Lent will begin.
The final weekend of Venice Carnival is said to be the best time to attend. So, from Fat Thursday (Giovedì Grasso) until Shrove Tuesday (Martedì Grasso), is when the best events occur. It is also the busiest time to be in Venice for Carnival.
Views: The Mail Carriers Of Réunion Island, France
Cyril Maillot is a mail carrier in Réunion – in the most literal sense. On the tropical island in the Indian Ocean, some villages can’t be reached by road. So Maillot hikes to remote areas with a backpack full of mail. He travels by foot to places not accessible by car, deep into the mountainous region of Mafate.
A hike of several days over narrow paths and steep ascents – and in all kinds of weather. When it rains, the streams sometimes swell into a raging river. But Cyril Maillot loves his job. It’s his personal yoga: “You switch off completely and leave city life behind.” And for many of the local people in the mountains, the weekly visit by Cyril the mail carrier is their only regular contact with the outside world. A report by Lisa Louis.
Réunion Island, a French department in the Indian Ocean, is known for its volcanic, rainforested interior, coral reefs and beaches. Its most iconic landmark is Piton de la Fournaise, a climbable active volcano standing 2,632m (8,635 ft.). Piton des Neiges, a massive extinct volcano, and Réunion’s 3 calderas (natural amphitheaters formed by collapsed volcanoes), are also climbing destinations.
Aerial Views: Landscapes & Coastlines Of Norway (4K)
Norway is a Scandinavian country encompassing mountains, glaciers and deep coastal fjords. Oslo, the capital, is a city of green spaces and museums. Preserved 9th-century Viking ships are displayed at Oslo’s Viking Ship Museum. Bergen, with colorful wooden houses, is the starting point for cruises to the dramatic Sognefjord. Norway is also known for fishing, hiking and skiing, notably at Lillehammer’s Olympic resort.
Boomers Daily 