HAVANA - Steamy Nights, Sultry Days

Cuba is a country of contradictions, complications and compromises, where instead of providing answers, visiting only poses more questions and uncertainties about the fascinating mix of people and cultures. To speak about the beauty and generosity of the people, the lushness of the forest, the idyllic turquoise and white beaches and the magnificent patchworks of crumbling colonial buildings seems to denigrate the country into cliched brochure-speak.

But it’s all true. Cuba is not the most comfortable country (far truer for citizens than visitors), where the heat reaches unimaginable humidity levels without breaking, plumbing works only occasionally and even the government-owned hotels and resorts are not exempt from flies, mosquitoes and bed bugs – great levelers in a genuinely unequal system. Yet it is one of the most authentically beautiful; besides its physical aspects the island has an enthralling history, a complex social situation and is one of the only places in the world virtually untouched by contemporary American culture. The fascination and beauty of the location does much to distract from the occasional discomfort (although it is hard to look consistently glamorous in such a sweaty, sticky and yet sexy place).

Culturally, the talent is astounding, and incredibly accessible. The amazing quality of live music at every meal renders one almost inured to it after a few days, yet leaves one surprised at the silence surrounding meals back at home. Cd's from bands we had listened to for hours and paintings from people we met and with whom we had discussed the challenges of Cuban life have become personal souvenirs of the experience, far more treasured than any anonymous mementos would have been.

Few things measure up to walking along a narrow Havanan street in the dark, the interiors of buildings lit up in relief as people eat, play or watch sport on television. Groups of young men kick at soccer balls or smoke on street corners, children run around chasing each other and women chat comfortably through open doors or on the edge of pavements. We undeniably stand out as being foreign but attract no hostility; everyone wants to know where we are from, what languages we speak, how we live and what we think of their country. Many implore us not to believe the international perceptions of Cuba – they are anxious to show us the reality of the country, the citizens, the governmental systems and the pride. Possibly due to half a century of international semi-isolation, Cubans, even dissenters, tend to be intensely nationalistic. And they have reason to be proud. Even engrained poverty is presented with beauty and style, which does not take away from the hardships they face.

The sweat and sweet flower smells of Havana, the open doorways leading to labyrinths of households, the generosity of spirit, earnestness and inherent pride in what is good – these are things which will stay with me forever...or at least until my very next trip.

SNAPSHOT

The pouring rain roars between crashes of lightning and thunder, soaking plants, scaring animals and chasing people indoors. An orange sky reaches out to the horizon where the dying sun peers through breaks in the cloud. My nose is filled with the scent of wet earth, my ears with the lonely cry of the freight train, protesting against the storm as it rumbles through the rural interior. Although the house is still warm, the storm has cracked the heat of the day and the rain pelts cool bullets against my welcoming skin.

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Please be so kind as to visit www.travelmaharishi.com and click to vote for

1) FIFA World Cup a Bone of Contention for Cubans
2) One of the Many Crumbling Pre-Revolution Facades (left)

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Yours, Sarah

Fish River Canyon, Namibia

I was 85km weary, had accumulated a five-days-layer of dirt and more than my fair share of bloody blisters after hiking five days through Africa’s largest canyon. And I was smiling. I had been warned that the hike would be arduous and the conditions sub-rustic, but I had not been advised of the stark beauty, ever-changing pastel colours, intense stillness and myriad of stars we were privileged to view in Namibia.

The Fish River Canyon hike entails walking from Hobas down to the river valley and 83 kilometres along the canyon to the oasis of Ai-Ais by using the river and a decidedly inaccurate map as a guide, sleeping under the stars and drinking river water. There are no rest camps or any other facilities along the route and we carried all our food and belongings in straining backpacks. When I was first offered a place on the trip I was most likely decidedly tipsy to take up the challenge, but every moment of discomfort was worth it, even just to prove that city-loving, self-proclaimed princesses can rough it up and enjoy it.

Traveling with my uncle, a cousin and an athletic friend from England, we set out from Cape Town with the nine hour drive to the Namibian border stretching along the unwavering highway before us. The scenery we drove through up the west coast of South Africa was mainly desert – flat sand lands occasionally punctuated by dry thorn trees and dusty succulents. After the draining drive everybody perked up at the shabby yet overly officious border control and before too long we were stamped through to a different country! The sky seemed somehow distilled – bluer and bigger, the desert drier and the horizon stretched even further. It was a relief, a few hours later, to pull up to the entrance of Ai-Ais hot springs hotel and campsite. The recently renovated facilities are clean and comfortable, apparently a marked improvement, and our self-catering cottage was exactly what we needed, especially before heading out to sleep on sand!

Ai-Ais (pronounced “I-ice”) are the local Nama words for “burning hot”. The natural thermal springs serve as an oasis in the arid Karas region and due to the extreme heat of the region both the resort and the hike close during the summer season. Prospective hikers are all required to obtain a recent medical certificate, proving them healthy and fit enough to take on the canyon. We also tentatively signed our lives away on scarily comprehensive indemnity forms.

The night we arrived in Ai-Ais we braaied outside our cottage and discussed our daunting mission. We ate well and slept even better, fully aware that for the next few days we would be eating non-perishables out of our backpacks and sleeping on the ground; an inch-deep foam “mattress” separating our sleeping bags from the sand.

Day one entailed a bustling morning of preparation; painstakingly packing, unpacking and repacking our backpacks, incessantly measuring weight against essentials . Needless to say, changes of clothes did not feature high – we judged food as being essential. My aunt had spent hours before our trip designing meals, buying and allocating food and supplies; life-savers such as mosquito spray, head torches, matches and the countless necessities that I would never, ever have thought to have taken. On a more delicate note, we also had to take along plenty of toilet paper and a shovel... no need for details on that one! We thus divided the loot between ourselves and strapped the bottles of water to the outside of our packs – these we would constantly refill along the way. Dressed not for style but for comfort and with a backpack that I struggled to put on by myself, we set off – to a minivan. From Ai-Ais one needs to drive the forty kilometres to the start of the hike: the intimidating, steep descent into the bottom of the canyon. It officially begins a 10km drive away from Hobas, the rustic campsite and small office officiating the entry of all wannabe hikers. Registering with them is somewhat important – they are next to the only people who know where you are and by what day you should reach your destination!

To read the rest of this article, please visit: http://www.itournow.com/blog/index.php/2010/03/namibia/

FIFA World Cup a Bone of Contention for Cubans

Despite not having a qualifying team competing in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Cuba is a soccer-mad nation (or futbol mad, as it translates in Spanish). This has decidedly brought the travel ban placed on all Cuban citizens to a head.

Seemingly adding insult to injury are the African and South African locals that Cubans see cheering from the stands. These are people who they have always been told are poor, and worse off materially than themselves, yet who are able to watch the soccer live, wear official merchandise and cheer for their country.

Many Cuban people met us, as South Africans, with a mixture of excitement and disapproval. After all, what where we doing in Cuba when the World Cup was on? They had a point. Word travelled around the Havanan grapevine that South Africans were in the streets, and people would yell "Sud Africa, Sud Africa, futbol!" as we passed by. Others would emerge from leafy shadows to express (to their great danger) how much they would have loved to travel to the World Cup, and how much the travel ban affected their lives. Everywhere we went we were followed by the constant drone of vuvuzelas blasting though open doorways and out of shady bars.

Fifty two years after the revolution, Cubans are becoming more and more frustrated by the confines of their borders. One can only wonder what levels the discontent might have risen to had the obedient, generous-spirited nation had a team competing for the cup on South African soil.

Mzansi Madness - Laduuuuuumma!

As one of the many, many South Africans abroad, it has been painful to be absent from the country during the FIFA World Cup 2010. Thanks be to satellite television then, and to the soccer-mad spirit in both Canada and Cuba (neither of which are competing).

Imagine, if you can, how surreal it is (after living in a country where many people did not know that South Africa existed) to walk into a bar of a five star hotel and to see the South African flag on every single table. Or to explore the colourfully tattered streets of Havana while hearing the constant drone of vuvuzelas blasting through doorways and out of bars. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves where we are, such as when walking through downtown Toronto and being stopped in our tracks by a Bafana shirt in a shop window, or catching a fleeting glimpse of a passerby with the telltale six-colour flag on the back of their neck.

It is not only our accents that now betray us (not very well as it turns out, because almost everybody thinks we’re Australian) but the colours we wear, the flag we carry and the anthem we sing. While proudly wearing my new Bafana zip-up top on the plane I was acutely aware that despite being dog-tired and combating the after effects of food poisoning and sinusitis, I had to be friendly and polite to everyone I saw. After all, I had identified myself as South African.

Although we met many lovely people in Cuba, it was with mixed feelings of excitement and disapproval that they learnt we were from South Africa. After all – what were we doing in Havana when the FIFA World Cup was playing in our back yard? They had a point. One day, while walking through shady pre-revolution avenues to reach the Museum of the Revolution itself, different people started approaching us, shouting: “South Africa, South Africa, Futbol!” Yip, word had gone round the Havanan grapevine that South Africans were in the streets. Through the people we met, we learnt that despite not having a competing side, the FIFA World Cup was a major bone of contention within Cuba. Unable to travel abroad, Cubans are becoming more and more frustrated within the confines of their country. To add insult to injury, many Cuban soccer fans could not believe that people in Africa (who they had always been told were poorer and worse off than them) could go and watch the soccer live.

Aside from one negative article in our local town newspaper (which reads as though the journalists only made it up to Grade Two), the international feedback seems incredible. All the games look so professionally produced, the crowds are colourful and full of gees, and South Africa is once more doing itself proud. For this month anyway, the world has gone Mzansi mad. Viva Mzansi – fo ‘sho!

Magical Melting Pot - NYC Part Four of Four

Why is New York so unique? You now know about all the places to go, the things to see and the people to meet. But what is it that makes it such a success of a city, a desirable place to live, and a keeper of dreams? It features as a character, not merely a setting, in many works; known as the fifth character in Sex and the City. Other shows and movies such as The City, How I Met Your Mother, Ugly Betty Spiderman and When Harry Met Sally serve to up the celebrity quotient and glamorous aura and just wouldn’t be the same without the lights of Manhattan. (For a more complete list, click here.)

When the place was first appropriated by the Dutch (they paid for it with 60 guilders and rumored glass beads) and called New Amsterdam, they were attracted to it because of the layout of the land – rivers carrying fresh water, the impenetrable nature of the island and its perfect situation for trading. Little did they imagine that its popularity would grow so incrementally and that it would become the world’s fifth largest city (number one in the USA) and the most linguistically diverse – more than 800 languages are spoken within the metro.

Many of the city’s symbols are recognised around the world – from the welcoming Statue of Liberty who has hailed ship-bound immigrants since 1886, to Times Square, commonly known as the crossroads of the world and host to the most legendary New Year’s Eve parties; and to Wall Street which has had movies made about it and on it, and which has witnessed many recessions since the eponymous Wall Street Crash which lead America into the years of the Great Depression.

Although Manhattan is only one of the city’s five boroughs (the others being Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and The Bronx) it sometimes seems as though the others exist merely to sustain it. Although each borough has its own unique feeling and culture, Manhattan is the centre, not only of the city, but of the country, and for some, the world.

Aside from New York’s incredible density of population, it is its ethnicity that stands out and makes the place so appealing to so many; no surprise then, that it is where the term ‘melting pot’ was first coined (Lower East Side, early 1900s). About 36% of the city’s population was born in other countries, and many of the American born residents come from other states. The city is home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel, a quarter of America’s Asian population, the largest black community in the country and the largest population of Chinese people outside of Asia. Although obscure, the following Wikipedia fact is somewhat fascinating: “The Irish also have a notable presence; one in 50 New Yorkers of European origin carry a distinctive genetic signature on their Y chromosomes inherited from the clan of Niall of the Nine Hostages, an Irish high king of the fifth century A.D.”

With people of all races, colours, religions, sizes and shapes, New York is probably the closest thing to a true meritocracy that we’ve got. People are chiefly judged on their talent, profession, who they know and what they’ve got, and very seldom by who they are or where they come from, which must make it one of the most liberating places in which to live.

Enjoy your trip!

Living like a New Yorker: NYC Part Three

General lifestyle is just one aspect of what makes the Big Apple so appealing. As one of the biggest and most significant cities in the world, anything you could think of is available – only a phone call or taxi ride away. Although often thought of as a concrete jungle, the parks and gardens and water around the city make it pretty balanced and thanks to great public transport and the small size that it inhabits (compared to the large number of people who live there), it’s one of the most environmentally friendly cities in the U.S. Below is my list for living in New York, whether you really do live there or are just visiting and only wish you lived there!

Central Park

This beautiful park was designed in 1859 and completed 14 years later. Stretching 4 kilometres long and just short of a kilometre wide, it has ample space for its annual 25 million visitors and includes a reservoir, several ponds, running and cycling paths, sport fields, zoos and ice-rinks. Home to many migratory birds, it is a popular destination for bird watches and people who are interested in all sporting activities. Families and the young and old come here to enjoy the open spaces and natural beauty it provides.

SoHo, Chelsea and the Villages

These historically unfashionable areas are now the most vibey and buzzing places in Manhattan, full of restaurants, cafes, bars and boutiques. The narrow streets are full of character and are great for people watching – fashionable and eccentrically dressed pedestrians rule the roads.

Chinatown

Home to approximately 100 000 people and many businesses, this is the place to get great food, gifts, groceries and some cultural education. As a previously Jewish and Hispanic area, there is still a small Jewish community living here, where the famous Katz’s Deli and a number of synagogues can be found. Chinatown also offers beautiful photographic opportunities and free walking tours are offered in an effort to promote the economy of the area, which has suffered significantly since the 9/11 attacks.

Walking

Surprisingly, people in the biggest city of the world’s fattest nation tend to be really thin on the whole. Several things contribute to this remarkable phenomenon (although I don’t think anyone can explain why they’re all so damn pretty!). The city is all about image so its inhabitants tend to take good care of themselves, and everyone has to walk kilometres and kilometres to work, to play, everywhere – unless one has a driver like Mr Big or uses taxis all the time. This walking nature of the city is shown by the business people pairing sneakers with their formal outfits and girls carrying high heels in shoe bags for work. My informal observations gathered that the most popular shoes for walking around while maintaining style standards are the Tory Burch ballet flats.

Eating Out

Whatever your budget, this is the city to eat out in. Hot dogs off street carts, fast food and takeaways, restaurants representing every nationality imaginable, the best of fancy establishments, there are so many to choose from. The city’s Department for Health lists over 20 000 registered restaurants, meaning that eating out is essential lifestyle living. Oh well, when in Rome!

New York - the Bucket List (part 2 of 4)

There are things that you have to do at least once in your life, whether you are a visitor or New York native. Here’s my list. If you’re confused as to why there are some obvious gaps (read Central Park) they’ll be included in my do-over-and-over-again as part of a New Yorker lifestyle column next week.

1. Empire State Building

I wasn’t that excited to go up this beautiful building, but went pretty willingly because my husband was so keen on it. Thank goodness. The whole visit was a pleasure – from the organized, swift moving queues to friendly guides, affordable gift shop and of course, the amazing views. Try to visit early in the morning or late at night on a week day for the best views and shortest queuing times.

Insider tip: although the building has 102 floors, the main viewing observatory is on the 86^th. Don’t bother to pay extra to go right to the top: it’s enclosed by scratched glass and the views are no better than outside on the main deck.

2. Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

It feels terribly clichéd and touristy to visit them, but these attractions are a huge part of American history, offer great views of Manhattan from afar and provide fantastic photographic opportunities. Catch the inexpensive ferry from Battery Park on the southernmost tip of Manhattan. If you would like to go up to the statue’s crown, an appointment needs to be made in advance, but like us, most visitors are content with looking up at her (she’s weirdly small in real life). As one of the most important gateways to America, Ellis Island Immigration Museum is fascinating and nostalgic, filled with original artefacts and interesting information.

3. Ground Zero site and museum

Ground Zero is not hard to find. A massive construction site filled with cranes and workers, all looking like ants scurrying around in hard hats. However, locating the museum is a little more complicated. Only temporary while the official monument and memorial centre is built, the museum is housed in a narrow unassuming business centre to the south of the site. A must-see to learn about the attacks and the people involved and pay tribute to the lives lost. The information and artefacts that have been collected are incredible and visitors walk around seemingly in a trance, often fighting back tears.

4. Brooklyn Bridge

Linking the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first steel-wire suspension bridge in the world, built in 1883. Used by cars, pedestrians and cyclists, it makes for a gorgeous 3.6km walk (across and back) on a sunny day. Its history includes jumpers, a shooting, a terrorist plot designed to blow it up and even remnants of a Cold War bunker, discovered in 2006. When walking along the pedestrian path, obey the rules and beware of cyclists

5. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Over 2 000 000 works of art are housed in this grandiose building backing onto Central Park. Once inside visit the areas that interest you most, and be prepared to get lost – the interior is a maze of hallways and galleries. Highlight tours are offered for those who want a good summary of the collection and to cut out the wandering-aimlessly-while-lost feeling.

6. The Rockefeller Centre

You are sure to have seen this on TV, as it consists of Radio City Music Hall, Winter Ice Rink and Christmas Tree, shopping malls and is home to shows such as 30 Rock which we had the privilege to see being shot live – Tracey Jordan just an arm’s length away!

7. Times Square

Noisy, busy, full of Midwestern tourists and exploitative gimmicks, this is a place that’s largely left to visitors. Although some people love going there on New Year’s Eve, I would give it a very wide berth on the busiest night of the year. You still have to see it, though. Watch out for pickpockets (and more recent car-contained bombs) and ignore the exorbitant tourist prices – there are better places to shop. Great place for discount theatre tickets!

New York - Part One of Four

View this post at:
www.thesoapbox.fm/2010/04/28/new-york-part-one-%E2%80%9Cthe-lights-will-inspire-you%E2%80%9D/


As I write I can see the two black and white photos of New York on my desk –one of the Empire State and surrounding buildings, the other my own picture of a sign at the intersection between Broadway and Wall Streets – the American Flag hanging proudly above the entrance to the Stock Exchange behind it. Should I minimize the numerous pages I have open on my laptop, I can daydream in front of my background –a colourful picture of Central Park and the Upper West Side on a sunny day, the Hudson River in the background. Clearly, I’m in an “Empire State of Mind".

The appeal of New York can be surprisingly hard to pin down when you really try to explain it, although many have attempted to. Carrie Bradshaw, of Sex and the City fame, mused “They say life’s what happens when you’re busy making other plans. But sometimes in New York, life is what happens when you’re waiting for a table.” Writer Thomas Wolfe reckoned that “One belongs to New York instantly; one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years” and both Frank Sinatra and JZ agree that “If [you] can make it there, [you’ll] make it anywhere”. They’re all right, you know. Life is at its most exciting in the Big Apple. I feel like it’s mine and that its millions of inhabitants and I all belong. To be successful in New York is to have truly made it.

In the industries of fashion, music, art and stage, New York is the centre of the cultural universe, where the best of anything in the world, some of the most interesting, exciting and talented people and 3.00am pizza delivery can all be found inside a small island – the total area of Manhattan amounting to just 58 square kilometres.

There are many companies offering tours of New York, and if you’ve never been, these could be useful. But the amazing thing about visiting the city is that sightseeing is at its best (and cheapest) when just wandering around. Unlike other cities with big, trademark attractions, the city of New York is the main attraction.

Gear up for a virtual tour over the next few weeks, as I take you through my “New York Bucket List” which includes all the attractions you have to see at least once, the food and party scene, the fashion arena and general New Yorker lifestyle. As I write, I’ll be dreaming about the city more than ever, saving for another trip and hatching a plan to live and work there.

Slackpacking - the slacker's way out?

Some travelers are in their element when roughing it, and indeed take pride in how rustic their travel conditions are. Whether it’s schlepping sans porter along the trails of Tibet or wearing the same clothes for the duration of a trek to Machu Picchu in the name of traveling light, hardy travellers base the success of their trip (and the inevitable post-holiday braai stories) on how much discomfort they endured. Others however, find it unnecessary to suffer on holiday, and while they enjoy hiking and would like to see the same sights as their smellier counterparts, would prefer to sleep on a mattress at night and eat meals consisting not entirely of bully beef. Herald the birth of slackpacking, a relatively recent trend designed to add comfort to your outdoor experience.

The term slackpacking originally referred to the hikers of the Appalachian Trail who attempted to complete the whole 3 440 kilometres as slowly and easily as possible. A 1994 issue of “Appalachian Trailway News” described slackpacking as an “attempt to backpack in a manner that is never trying, difficult, or tense, but in a slowly free-flowing way that drifts with whatever currents of interest, attraction, or stimulation are blowing at that moment” and that it also meant escaping from “our culture’s slavish devotion to efficiency” and banishing “the gnawing rat of goal-orientation” by relearning how to play.

Today however, it has loosely come to mean hiking without a large pack, and often with some level of comfort or luxury. As well as taking care of your luggage, many companies now offer top-class cuisine and luxurious accommodation after your day of walking, carrying only your camera, some water and perhaps a gourmet snack.

The pioneering slackpackers of the Appalachian Trail have apparently caused quite some consternation in the world of walking, with questions on various internet sites posing puzzlers such as “Is slackpacking morally wrong?” There are valid arguments on both sides of the question, with some people insisting that external support for walkers leads to ecologically damaging infrastructure to be established in remote areas. True hikers also believe that the more you carry and the more distant from ‘civilization’ you become, the closer to nature and more in tune with the wilderness you will be. Others believe that hikes should not be rushed or uncomfortable: part of the slackpacker philosophy is that hikers should wander where their curiosity takes them, not necessarily towards a single destination.

On the other side of the slackpacking coin and — and developed in its defense — is fastpacking (also called powerhiking). both fairly self-explanatory. These disciplines merge into trail running so that fastpackers (which so sounds like a dirty word) run along their trails as much as possible, taking as few breaks as are absolutely necessary.

Most people, even hardcore hikers, would admit that there is nothing wrong with eco-friendly, responsible slackpacking, and it can even impact the area around the trail beneficially by creating jobs, heightening awareness of a region and opening up areas of beauty to people who might not have been able to experience it. Companies such as Slackpacker SA help local businesses by utilizing regional hospitality. Especially in South Africa, a developing country which places much emphasis on tourism and community development, the trend is having a positive impact and going from strength to strength as it caters for both international tourists and South African holidaymakers excited to see more of their own country.

Visit the following sites for more information on slackpacking: www.slackpacker.com and www.slackpackersa.co.za.

A Taste of Canadian Class - Luxury in the Rockies

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www.thesoapbox.fm/2010/04/12/a-taste-of-canadian-class-fairmont-luxury-in-the-rockies/

The eyes of the world have recently been trained on Whistler, host of the skiing events in the Winter Olympics 2010. Just the other side of the mountain range, however, as it tips from British Columbia into Alberta, are the ski resort towns of Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper. The three areas are divided by the Icefields Parkway, debatably the most beautiful mountain pass in the world. Each of these small towns have no shortage of accommodation to suit every budget, and the finest five star luxury hotels in all of them happen to belong to the Fairmont Hotel Group. Styled according to appropriate mountainous themes, these hotels provide the best in ski slope luxury.

The Jasper Park Lodge is built in the style of a Canadian hunting cabin, the main structure gazing out to the turquoise Lac Beauvert (which becomes a festive ice-rink in winter months). Established in 1915, the lodge started life as a luxury tented camp and the building rose in the 1920s. Black and white photographs of Marilyn Monroe cozying up to costumed Mounties adorn the walls in the main dining room – she stayed at the lodge in 1927 while filming “River of No Return”. Other esteemed guests include King George VI, Queen Elizabeth II and an entirely different sort of royalty: Bing Crosby. After a devastating fire in the fifties, the current building was developed and since then more log cabins have been built along the lake shore. Costly boutiques, great restaurants and good service give visitors a taste of Canadian class, all year round.

Two hours drive away past the spectacular Athabasca Falls, glacier at Columbia Icefields and surreally azure Peyto Lake, the road veers off to Lake Louise. The town is tiny, and most of the action centres around the lake and the ski slopes. Famous for its colour when the sun shines, the lake becomes a teal-green turquoise with Fairmont’s Chateau Lake Louise the only accommodation set straight in front of its shores. In its current form, the creamy chateau has been in existence since 1911 and yet looks far more modern. What really shows the brand’s attention to detail; however, are the bizarre green uniforms that staff members are required to wear. The hotel is acclaimed for its restaurants and for serving the thousands of visitors who turn up at the lake every summer, hoping to see the elusive glimpse of colour, only visible when the sun peeks out from behind the clouds.

Now off the Icefields Parkway, the road from Lake Louise continues through Banff National Park until arriving at the town itself. A well-heeled student resort town whose organic bakeries, bustling bars and designer boutiques place it in the ice-cool category, Banff is the epitome of resort chic. The Fairmont Springs Hotel is set a touch away from the town – as if superiorly setting itself above it with its aura of old-money and class. The hotel’s theme is not hard to spot – the Scottish castle is true to life indeed, complete with wall-mounted tapestries, cavernous stone halls warmed by roaring wood fires and mazes of secret passages leading guests to tucked-away shops and bistros. The most formal of the three hotels, service was above reproach. The moody rainstorm pouring when we arrived set the scene perfectly, and we were more than happy to explore the hotels numerous passages. Built in 1888, the sense of solidity and history that the hotel seeps is authentic, so although luxurious the rooms are small. Eleven bars and restaurants meant that we were spoilt for choice and eventually settled for rustic fondue and Canadian reserve wine in the wood-paneled wine bar. A short taxi drive is convenient for visitors to experience some of Banff’s more vigorous night-life, and locals are a great source for recommendations.

Without these three strategically placed Fairmont spots, travelling though the Albertan Rockies would not be nearly as charming, comfortable or classy than it is. Whether one stops over at all three or merely visits for a meal, these hotels complement their majestic backdrop, becoming almost as much of an attraction as the mountains themselves.

Madrid Magic - City of Surprises

As a European destination, Madrid is often passed over for cities with more international cache – Paris, Amsterdam – even its own counterpart – Barcelona. Yet, as a favorite hangout of Ernest Hemingway, this is a city of living, eating, partying and shopping. Madrid contains all the things one might want from a European city – history, architecture, museums and galleries, beautiful parks, pavement cafés, great restaurants and a bouncing party scene, all with incredible Spanish flavor and style.madrid5

Here are a few highlights:

1. Palacio Real

Situated in the center of the city, this previous royal residence (now used for state ceremonies) is an architectural and artistic wonder, built between 1738 and 1764. Start off by admiring the symmetrical façade, equally beautiful when lit up at night or glowing in the morning sunshine. Must-sees inside include the Hall of Columns which is still used for functions, and the pharmacy (an antique collector’s dream, lined with ancient glass bottles and mortars and pestles. Informative placards educate visitors on the scarier aspects of 1800s medicine). Cross the interior courtyard – while imagining you live there – and enter the amoury. As someone who has always been far more interested in dashing knights than amour, it was amazing to see the contraptions that have been worn through the ages!

2. Parque del Retiro

Madrid’s Central Park – bigger than most suburbs and used by all for pet-walking, bike riding, yoga classes and boat rides on the lake – not only serves Madrileños with recreational facilities, but also contains architectural marvels such as the Palacio de Cristal. Visitors can enter the park through any of the eighteen elaborately designed gates and most of them eventually make their way through the mazes of paths and roads to Estanque, the boating lake. Built in 1631 and overlooked by a towering monument to Alfonso XII, there are rowboats for hire and plenty of spectators who while away their time buying ice creams and watching some of the 6000 fish to be found in the lake. Don’t miss the beautifully designed rose garden which flowers at impossible times of the year and boasts more than 4000 roses.

3. Plaza Mayor

Madrid’s most famous square was designed to hold 50000 people. Most of the buildings now house government offices. The floor of the square is surrounded by restaurants, bars, tourist information kiosks and shops. In the center you’ll find the horse-seated statue of Felipe III. The square, although always humming with people and music, is a lot more staid than it used to be – it was previously used as a bullring, open-air theater and an execution ground.

4. El Escorial

A day trip from Madrid, El Escorial is stately and unique – one part palace, one part monastery and one part mausoleum. Built by Felipe II to house the remains of his father, he instructed his architects to design it with “simplicity in construction, severity in the whole, nobility without arrogance, majesty without ostentation”. One of the complex’s most beautiful aspects is the library which is held in esteem for its possession of important holy writings dating between the fifth and 18th centuries, housed under intricately painted vaulted ceilings inspired by Michelangelo. El Escorial has been deemed one of the modern wonders of the world and has been declared a Monument of Worldwide Interest by UNESCO.

5. Art Galleries

Madrid is renown for its three biggest art galleries – Museo del Prado, Museo Thyssen Bornemisza and the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia. The Prado is housed in a large, low building situated along a leafy avenue. Among its claim to fame is its collection of Goya, Velazquez and Rubens masterpieces.

Not far up the avenue the smaller Museo Thyssen Bornemisza can be found, which houses paintings by Van Gough, Renoir, Degas, Picasso, Rembrandt and Dali. For visitors who become footsore, the charming garden café is the perfect place to refresh.

The last of the three main galleries (there are plenty more!) is the Arte Reina Sofia which boasts Picasso’s Guernica. Not only is the finished canvas displayed – an adjoining room also contains the artist’s rough sketches of the design and other Picasso works.

6. Dining

Madrid being the city of eating out, bars and restaurants are abundant, well-priced and always full of interesting people. Almost without exception, the bars serve delicious tapas and the restaurants boast adjoining bars. Aside from great wines and European beers, the drink of choice is Anis, preferably from Chinchon. This clear spirit made from aniseed has a madrid4liquorice taste and can be likened to Sambuca. Those in a celebratory mood should try Cava, the Spanish sparkling wine. After tapas, the most delicious and Spanish of Madrid food is paella – made with rice, vegetables, seafood and other meats, and usually served straight from the pan. Restaurant or bar recommendations are fruitless – there is so much to choose from. Walk down a street in any busy area and wander into places that catch your eye. Most have menus posted outside so you can see whether the food appeals, and whether their prices are inside your budget.

As a city, Madrid certainly has a unique body clock. Expect lunch to end anywhere before five pm, and supper only to start at 11pm. Although there is early business traffic, the streets only wake up after 10am when people of all kinds congregate in coffee shops for a traditional breakfast – chocolate con churros – fried pastry dipped in thick chocolate or black coffee.

Voluntourism - is it a Blessing or a Curse?

The current zeitgeist swings madly towards altruism. We saw this at the Oscars in hit films The Blindside and Precious; George Clooney and Simon Cowell showed how it’s done as they raised millions of dollars for Haitian earthquake victims and Angelina and Madonna’s ever increasing broods have been discussed, quite literally, to nausea. Not to mention David Beckham’s trips to the war-torn Sierra Leone and She-Wolf-Shakira’s position as a UNICEF ambassador. And just like monkey-see-monkey-do, where the stars go we’ll swiftly attempt to follow.

Why not? Never has there been a better time for goodwill, and never has compassion been needed more than now. Globalization, despite all its evils, has made people in need more accessible than ever before. Frequently occurring natural disasters, under-reported genocides and ever-increasing poverty and social collapse mean that there will always be far more demand than supply of this particular trend.

Which brings us to ourselves: as mere mortals lacking the discretionary income and celebrity persuasion of Bono, it is sometimes difficult to know how we too can make meaningful differences. Thus were the terribly amalgamated nouns voluntourism, and the less popular but just as rough, travelanthropy, created.

From as early as the 1990s, volunteer vacations started appearing in travel agents, designed to cater for gap-year students and travellers who wanted to help the people they met, and yet had no experience in outreach work. Groups of young and old travel the world at their own expense to build schools, teach classes, paint orphanages and clean hospitals; one staggering statistic from the Travel Industry Association of America puts the number of people who have been on a volunteer vacation at 55 million and estimates that a further 100 million are contemplating a trip. Is this an entirely good thing? How could it ever not be, you ask.

In the article “Voluntourism: what could go wrong when trying to do right”, Daniela Papi (an experienced voluntourist who works in Cambodia) highlights some of the concerns that are tipping voluntourism from helping hand to hindrance. Among these concerns are that many one-off projects have little impact (painting a school is of little assistance to students who have no teachers or books). Unskilled volunteers attempting tasks which if badly done often cause more harm than good by wasting time and resources.

Papi’s biggie, though, is the fostering of moral imperialism. She writes, “We assume, because we come from wealthier places with better education systems, that we can come into any new place without knowing much about the culture or the people, and we can fix things. We can’t! THEY, the people who live there and know the place well, can. Our job in the developing world can and should be to support them in doing so.” She cites examples of voluntourism gone wrong such as volunteers fund raising thousands of dollars for a trip, spending a few hours cooing over babies in an orphanage and thinking they’ve saved the world and well-intentioned travelers flying to Thailand after the Tsunami (taking up valuable food and accommodation resources by being there) and bringing crates of winter coats that could never be utilized.

As disheartening as it may be to think of all the wasted resources and well-intentioned donations that will never be used, it is important to recognize the good that is being done. Travelers who choose their projects well and visit destinations with open eyes and minds are able to learn about different cultures and peoples while helping to facilitate upliftment. There are helpful resources for wannabe voluntourists, such as TheCharityRater.com which Saundra Schimmelpfennig, author of both the book and blog titled “Good Intentions are Not Enough”, founded is helping donors to contribute in meaningful ways.

Voluntourism.org offers the following tips to help your volunteer vacation bring sustainable change to areas in need:
# Take an inventory of the adventure service tourism resources
# Know the reality – is this needed? How might the environment be impacted?
# Start small – pilot projects are key; consider how long-term relationships can be created
# Monitor and evaluate – what can be done before, during and after service to continuously improve the experience for all those involved?

Three Hours in Amsterdam

View this post at: http://www.thesoapbox.fm/2010/03/22/three-hours-in-amsterdam/

The free dictionary defines a layover as “A short stop or break in a journey, usually imposed by scheduling requirements”, but does not include the truism that it has become the curse of the modern traveler, as it can easily double the time of one’s journey.

A necessary evil to save money on flights, it is quite conceivable nowadays to fly half way around the world in the opposite direction to one’s destination before heading back the right way.

However, if one is lucky, layovers might not involve booking into an extortionately expensive airport hotel for the night or camping underneath a smelly metal chair outside your gate but rather a quick browse through duty free, followed by free champers in a plush airport lounge. Leaving Cape Town for New York, this is what my husband and I had in mind for our three-hour layover in Schiphol Airport. As we descended into the Netherlands we started chatting to the Dutch lady besides us, who recommend we get out of the airport and see the city, assuring us that we had more than enough time to jump on a train to downtown Amsterdam and explore.

This sounded a little risky to us, as we certainly could not afford to miss our connection, so we smiled and nodded politely — both wishing we really could see the city. She was very persuasive. Refusing to let us remain content with our browse/drink plan, she ushered us out through customs (having no bags makes this so easy), helped us to buy a train ticket (we had to try four machines and eventually used her credit card at her generous insistence) and pointed us in the direction of the right platform (it was not the correct platform, and we took twenty minutes to ascertain which one we should be on – our eyes big with fear at jumping onto a train and heading into Belgium).



The train ride was clean, efficient and ever so boring, the scenery industrial and the stations generic. Only until we pulled in to Amsterdam proper, however. Old buildings loomed imposingly over cobbled streets and bicycles were everywhere, some parked in stacks and some moving in frantic motion. We narrowly dodged them, as well as the cars, trams and buses as we walked around the main square and up the narrow streets. These, even at eight in the morning, were festively decorated with rainbow-colored flags, sidewalk café and coffee houses from whence people and music from all around the world poured out.

We finally settled on a café and attempted to order breakfast and coffees while we sat there quietly and tried to take in all that was happening around us. Funnily shaped vehicles appeared between bike riders of all ages — some towing carts as wide as a car, some transporting their children or pets while wearing high heels, floral dresses and absolutely no helmets. Getting food from our waitress and then eventually finding her to pay was painful, but we managed and strolled back to the station, hoping that the return trip would not take as long as the outbound one. We frantically checked the time as we waited and waited for the train to move. Finally it did, and we were in due course deposited back at Schiphol.

Luckily for us it is a well signposted airport, so we could literally run helter-skelter to our gate, hoping all the time that boarding was still open; ears pricked for announcements of our names. We joined the queue in the nick of time, sweaty and panting – attracting loads of weird looks from our fellow passengers.

Despite the excruciatingly close shave, we were thrilled that we had seen a little bit of this fascinating city and even managed to eat dinner in Cape Town, breakfast in Amsterdam and afternoon tea in New York with no airport meals included. All thanks to our convincing and charitable Dutch friend at whose insistence we explored her city!

Olympians Fly the Flag High - While SA Sleeps

I watched the 2010 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony with butterflies in my tummy, my foot tapping nervously and only one ear on the conversation I was having at the time. The ceremony took place while I was attending a “Purse Party”, which pretty much came to a standstill as I jumped up, clapping and cheering for my team. “Canadian?” You ask. Not on your life. After the long wait through Romania, Russia, Serbia and Slovakia, out marched an admittedly small but valiant team dressed in green and gold and carrying a multi-coloured flag: the South Africans. Pardon me for being unreasonably (some would say insanely) proud of a team from a developing country – my country – that does not have the climate to practice Winter Olympic events!

In the words of Corné and Twakkie, “Deed you kneooow”… that there were South Africans competing in the Vancouver Winter Olympics of 2010? Not many South Africans did. And it’s really not our fault – the media were tchoep stil about it; even a comprehensive internet search does not yield very much. As well as athletes from South Africa, teams from Ghana, Morocco, Kenya, Ethiopia, Senegal and Algeria also competed. These African Olympians were not medal hopefuls, many of them were self-funded and very few received the recognition or praise they deserved, although the other athletes from Africa were lauded far more in their own countries than our homeboys. Although the South African athletes are in part supported by Snowsports South Africa, the official body representing, well, all snow sports, nobody really knew about them.

The most experienced South African athlete at these Olympics was Oliver Kraas, who competed in a ski event (the Men’s Individual Sprint Classical). Kraas is a thirty-four year old from Germiston who placed 61st out of 62 in his event and carried the South African flag through the arena during the opening ceremony.

Peter Scott, who took part in the Giant Slalom skiing event, is only nineteen years old and trains with teammate Bruce Warner in Europe. They are coached by South Africa’s most successful skier to date, Alexander Heath. Scott did not complete his event in the 2010 Olympics (neither did some of the favorites, namely Bode Miller from the U.S.A.)

Representing South Africa in the Paralympics later this month will be Bruce Warner. He will be competing during the course of the games which run from March 12 – 21st. This Bloem local now trains in Switzerland and will compete in no less than five skiing events: Slalom, Giant Slalom, Super Combined, Super G and Downhill. Wow – Good Luck Bruce!

The South African media’s taciturnity about our Winter Olympic team has astounded me. Yes, we have more athletes competing in more events in the Summer Olympics. But haven’t our Winter Olympic team overcome as many obstacles, if not more, than our supported, sponsored Summer Olympic teams? In the build up to the Vancouver 2010 Paralympics, let’s be aware that we have a South African competitor and support his efforts to reach the podium.