Author: Charlotte Gill

Glamping: the tent commandments

Posted on by Charlotte Gill

‘Camping holiday’ connotes a 1970s family adventure in a small field in the middle of nowhere, sleeping in a cramped, basic triangular tent while eating poorly cooked marshmallows and lots of service-station crisps. The idea behind a camping break is to experience the great outdoors, leaving behind the indoor comforts of everyday life.

However, for some – this writer especially – there are certain requirements (or basic living standards) that traditional camping holidays cannot provide, fully functional bathrooms and fresh linen being merely the start of the list. The thought of struggling to rest in a cheap polyester sleeping bag, in a suffocatingly airtight tent, while the rain beats an inevitable hole through the canvas and onto my forehead, is enough to make me never want to leave the comfort of my four-walled home again.

Introducing glamping: A comfortable compromise 
Fortunately, camping has evolved since the seventies. It doesn’t have to be the uncomfortable and basic experience it once was. ‘Glamping’ – glamorous camping – companies are sprouting up all over the world, offering luxurious living with the promise of an outdoor experience. Whether in the English countryside, on an African safari, in the barren Jordanian desert, or the beaches of India, glamping holidays can provide an adventurous and unique experience without forfeiting five-star comfort.

The English have embraced the idea of ‘glamping’ with great enthusiasm

In place of budget tents, glamping offers kitted-out versions of pointed tipis or circular yurts – both varieties of tent used by nomadic tribes for many centuries. Most come adorned with traditional decorations, comfortable bedding and adjacent bathrooms. The advantages of glamping over hotels are many. Costs tend to be much lower than in a hotel, and luxury campsites often provide just as much comfort as their four-walled counterparts. Add to this the unique experience of sleeping outdoors and the closer proximity to the natural wonders visitors have come to see. They are also almost certainly more eco-friendly than staying in a normal hotel.

Posh camping holidays are popular throughout Europe, with sites on offer in places including the Pyrenees, Normandy and Brittany in France; Andalucia, Alicante and the Canary Islands in Spain; across Portugal’s Algarve region; and even in the colder Scandinavian countries of northern Europe. Elsewhere, adventurous tourists across Latin America, Asia and Africa often choose to stay in luxury tents when visiting some of nature’s great sites, as opposed to hiking back to a soulless, uniform hotel nearby. These can include the River Kwai in Thailand, the Granite Belt wine region of Australia, the deserts of Morocco, or Panama’s Red Frog Beach.

Safari sanctuary
If lying under the stars while the roars of lions surround you is your thing, then hire a luxurious tent at the Onguma Tented Camp in Namibia. Situated in the heart of the Onguma Game Reserve, the camp is the ideal setting for adventurers that require home comforts after a long day’s safari, while also offering an environment as close to nature as possible. A watering hole just 60m from the seven tents is where many of the reserve’s most exotic animals come to bathe and drink.

A male lion prowls around Onguma Game Reserve
A male lion prowls around Onguma Game Reserve

At night, full-sized beds can be rolled out under the clear skies to enjoy falling asleep to views of the solar system. All tents also benefit from electricity, so guests can relax in the knowledge that their iPhones will be charged in preparation for the following day’s safari and inevitable sending of smug holiday photos to less fortunate friends back home. Each tent also comes with a lavish bathroom, including a full-sized bath.

Glamping at festivals
The English have embraced the idea of ‘glamping’ with great enthusiasm, which could say more about the unpredictable conditions in the country than its people’s aptitude for roughing it outdoors. A particular hotbed of posh camping sites is around the many annual summer music festivals. Long the preserve of teenagers with barely enough change to afford a basic tent and sleeping bag, festivals now tend to be populated with affluent, middle-aged families whose idea of roughing it is a far cry from a cheaply made polyester sweatbox and a jumper for a pillow.

The king of the UK’s festival scene, Glastonbury, is where many extravagant camping experiences have sprung up. One of the most comfortable is Pennard Orchard, which sits atop a hill overlooking the festival site. Large tipis sleep up to four people in well-maintained beds, while spotless showers and bathrooms are nearby. Food is provided by one of London’s best cafes, The Breakfast Club, including heart-stopping fried food to fill guests up for the day ahead, as well as an impressively long cocktail list that will get music lovers in the mood for a day of fun. The camp has also been known to arrange golf buggies to ferry guests to and from the main gate, averting the need for an often-treacherous late-night walk up the hill.

Desert retreats
Throughout the barren deserts of the Middle East, many travellers sleep under the stars in traditional Bedouin tents. There is no better place for this than the Wadi Rum desert in the south of Jordan. Bedouin tribes have used this area as a trading route between Jordan and Saudi Arabia for centuries. Nowadays, tourists visit to see the location of TE Lawrence’s escapades at the beginning of the last century, while taking in the stunning rock formations and sand-swept landscapes.

Many operators have their own Bedouin camps within Wadi Rum, varying from the quite basic to lavishly decorated. After a hot day of trekking on the back of a camel, visitors return to their camps to find a traditional Bedouin feast. They can while away the evening around a fire drinking sweet Arabic tea, or lie under the unspoilt sky, looking up at the stars.

A Bedouin-style camp in the Wadi Rum Desert
A Bedouin-style camp in the Wadi Rum Desert, one of many popular glamping spots around the world

A nervous breakdown in the desert? Stuart White comes close

Posted on by Charlotte Gill

Let me make this perfectly clear before my head explodes: I have nothing at all against North Sumatran caves, same-sex marriage in Australia, the BBC or Russians. But let me state also that I loathe repetition and obfuscation, don’t drink vodka or eat beet-related products, and deplore cigarette smoke in enclosed spaces.

My room is as cold as a politician’s smile

I also have the old-fashioned view that when I order three different but quite common cocktails of a menu, and the barman hasn’t got the faintest idea how to make them, I feel this is a case for the Advertising Standards Authority.

Hotel calamity
No, trust me, all these things are linked. But let me pause and metaphorically wipe a napkin across my angry foam-flecked lips and I’ll eventually get you to where I’m going with this. You see I’m between house moves and have been forced to leave England for a couple of weeks to put a roof over my head. There’s a high wind roaring out there, it’s about nine degrees Centigrade, the rain is teeming down, and my room is as cold as a politician’s smile.

I wouldn’t mind if I was in Detroit or Oslo, but I’m on the Red Sea just paces from the desert of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Me and 250 Russians, two Italians, and a staff that has but a nodding acquaintance with the English language. Then, if I had any hair left to tear out, there’s BBC World News. Twenty-four TV channels are offered. What they didn’t say was that seven are in Arabic, eight in Russian, one in Polish, one each in French and German, three in Italian, and three on which the signal is so broken up it’s impossible to decipher the language. And none of them can synchronise the sound with the speakers’ lip movements.

So there are various factors threatening to give me a nervous breakdown, but let’s start with the BBC. They have a rolling news headline under the main picture. For five hours now they’ve been showing me this: “A cave on the north-east coast of Sumatra holds a remarkable record of tsunamis in the Indian Ocean stretching back thousands of years.” My instant reaction is: Really? Fascinating? How? What? But that’s it, the BBC will not deign to tell me exactly how this mysterious cave holds these records and on what they are – printed? Engraved? Then comes another constantly repeated item about gay marriages being banned in Canberra. Over and over and over. And all I can inwardly scream is: “Please make it stop!”

Bar none
The bar is usually a refuge in these situations, but the far is full of Russians drinking neat vodka – it’s part of their package, as much free vodka as they can guzzle – and smoking. Yes, smoking. Smoking is not banned here except for in the dining room, and these Russians smoke like they drink vodka, which is to say, constantly. Through a haze of tobacco-tainted smog I lift the cocktail menu, which proves to be as big a work of fiction as a political manifesto, and order a margarita.

I got a white wine, which was warmer than the soup at dinner, then a red, which would have given a Titanic survivor hypothermia

They didn’t have the ingredients. OK, I’ll have a mojito. Not possible. For God’s sake, just rustle me up a pina colada. It’s difficult. And before you say it – remember my temper is a little short – no, I did not order a Black Russian. Didn’t dare. I got a white wine, which was warmer than the soup at dinner, then a red, which would have given a Titanic survivor hypothermia.

There’s beetroot on the salad bar, borscht on the menu and the rowdy group are stuffing themselves silly from the all-you-can-eat buffet. My in-room mini-bar is stocked with – water. BBC World News is meanwhile sending out another rolling item. ‘Score in third Test Match between Australia and England in Perth.’ What score? They don’t tell you. It’s like being in a Twilight Zone episode where words get out of joint. A Russian is wearing a t-shirt that proclaims in English, ‘Here do we go from here?’ I presume the sloganeer meant, ‘Where…’, but ran out of either cotton or the alphabet.

I’m ravenous for some decent grub; I’m cold, irritable, tetchy and driven to distraction by our inadequate threat-of-jail funded TV channel. Memo to self: next time you’re homeless check in to a Travelodge on the M6. Phew! Spasiba – sorry, I mean, thanks – for listening. Dasvidaniya!

(NB: Following my recent criticism of Europcar/Alamo over a mix-up in Carcassone, I think it only fair to point out that after my complaint to them, they willingly refunded the ninety-odd euros I was forced to fork out for another car until the one I’d booked was ready.)

The dark side of dance: knives are out at Russia’s Bolshoi Ballet

Posted on by Charlotte Gill

The saga culminated in the conviction and sentencing of the once-beloved principal dancer of the Bolshoi Theatre, one of Russia’s most respected and traditional cultural institutions. Pavel Dmitrichenko was found guilty of orchestrating an acid attack that left Sergei Filin, the company’s director, blind in one eye and fighting for his life.

Though this only happened a few months ago, things seem to be business as usual at the Bolshoi, with the company announcing a much-anticipated visit to the US this coming summer. The fact is, the Bolshoi is a complex company, and much of its work and history is as marred with controversy as it is admired.

The Bolshoi Ballet is one of the oldest and most highly regarded companies in the world. All the fantasy and romance that surrounds the ballet today – the tragedy, the scandal – can be traced back to the Bolshoi. Bolshoi lead dancers were the first rock stars. And, of course, such an influential place in the popular culture of three centuries does not come without a little controversy.

Pavel Dmitrichenko was found guilty of orchestrating an acid attack that left the company’s director blind in one eye and fighting for his life

The company was actually founded in an orphanage in 1776. It quickly developed into a dance group that performed in private theatres around Russia, before settling in the famed Petrovsky Theatre. That venue is long gone, replaced by the Bolshoi Theatre, a Moscow landmark. The theatre has been plagued with fires, and was damaged during WWII and countless ‘modernisations’. In many ways the convoluted history of the theatre reflects the dramatics going on within.

Modern ballet has remained largely unchanged since the seventeenth century when it was popularised by trendsetting Louis XIV. The French king was passionate about dance, appointing a ballet de cour for his court and founding the Académie Royale de Danse in 1661. Soon courts all over Europe were founding their own schools and commissioning fashionable musicians to compose ballets. Paris remained at the heart of ballet for the next century and a half, but as fashions changed and companies began to fall out of favour in the nineteenth century, Russia continued to foster a great interest in dance.

Paris to Moscow
By 1850 ballet had found a new spiritual home: Moscow. The Bolshoi became the highest authority on the matter, its longstanding rivalry with St Petersburg’s Mariinsky Ballet notwithstanding. Since 1900, when ballet gained popularity beyond the ruling elites thanks to the creative genius of Alexander Gorsky, the Bolshoi has made classics out of Don Quixote, La Fille Mal Gardée and many other well-liked tales. If it were not for Gorsky’s 1901 staging of Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece would not have the cultural onus it enjoys today.

A key characteristic of ballet is the seamless fluidity of movements and the synergy between the dancers, who often move as one. So it’s somewhat ironic that while there is a perfect confluence of skill and chemistry on stage, relationships and egos are often fractured beyond repair behind the scenes. From its primordial days, dancers at the Bolshoi have been vocal about mistreatment and overwork. But perhaps more damning is the enduring allegation that female ballerinas are often sexually exploited in exchange for better parts or solos in performances. “Parties are organised for oligarchs, for sponsors. And they invite ballerinas from the Bolshoi,” Anastasia Volochkova, a former Bolshoi ballerina allegedly dismissed over weight gain, told The Guardian.

Looking at a line of petite ballerinas performing the arabesque, they are so light on their feet that it is easy to disassociate the extreme levels of fitness, endurance and preparation that go into this one movement. Cultural stereotypes mean we regard ballerinas as dancers and not as the athletes. The primas and principal dancers of any given company have likely dedicated decades of their lives to ballet, starting from early childhood. They have sculpted their bodies to fit rigid moulds and endured terrible pain and injuries from practice. Even when a dancer is not rehearsing a specific show, they attend strenuous classes and workshops. Being a ballet dancer is more than just a job – it is an all-consuming lifestyle. “I don’t understand anything about the ballet,” Anton Chekhov famously wrote. “All I know is that during the intervals the ballerinas stink like horses.”

So it may be no surprise that competition within a company is fierce. The Bolshoi is one of the largest ballets in the world, with over 220 dancers in full-time employment – in fact, bolshoi means ‘grand’ or ‘large’ in Russian. The company is run along the lines of a military hierarchy with a general corps de ballet with approximately 120 dancers at the bottom, ascending in importance through soloist, lead soloists and finally principals capping the troupe. There are currently 11 prima ballerinas and nine principal dancers who alternate the lead in the company’s repertoire of up to 40 ballets a season.

Courting controversy
Life for the dancers revolves around rehearsals and classes in and around Theatre Square in Moscow, and many live in groups around the area. Many retired dancers return to the school to teach or assume other creative roles. The Bolshoi is a tiny universe, and it is possible for a dancer to dedicate their entire life to the company.

Artistic Director Sergei Fillin was blinded in an acid attack perpetrated by a lead Bolshoi dancer
Artistic Director Sergei Fillin was blinded in one eye in an acid attack perpetrated by a lead Bolshoi dancer

When scandal erupts within the hierarchy, as it often does, the entire community is rocked. “If it turns out that the guilty one is inside the company, I’ll be terrified,” Katya Novikova, who has assumed the reins of the company and been tasked with salvaging its reputation post-acid attack, told David Remnick from The New Yorker. “This would be unbearable — to think that the person was in the same room with us!” When the attack on Fillin was traced back to one of his principal dancers, the ballet seemed to be facing one of its most serious crises to date. But it is testament to the company’s resilience that within a year of Dmitrichenko’s imprisonment, the Bolshoi is back on track.

The company is now interested in moving forward and has already confirmed a much-anticipated trip to the US in the summer. The Bolshoi will be bringing its characteristic brand of dauntless dancing to the Lincoln Centre for the prestigious festival held there each summer. The set list is ambitious: Swan Lake, Don Quixote and Spartacus, among other Bolshoi classics. The Bolshoi is known for its colourful performances, set in clear contrast to the Mariinsky Company, its biggest commercial rivals in Russia, known for a more classical approach.

Curtain call
To continue living up to its rich performance history, the Bolshoi Theatre closed its doors in 2005 to undergo a drastic modernisation and did not reopen until late 2011. Officially, the renovation cost $688m, but observers have speculated costs up to $1.1bn, according to Der Spiegel. If the Bolshoi was hoping to start afresh, without controversy and scandal, in their remodelled ancestral home, it will have to think again; allegations of corruption, money laundering and mafia connections have surrounded the renovation works. “It’s our national treasure,” an anonymous Bolshoi insider told Der Spiegel, “but now its reputation is ruined.”

In reality it is unlikely that the Bolshoi will ever escape the reputation that precedes it: of a scandalous, corrupt, embattled dance company. But when the ballerinas are on stage and the music is blaring from the orchestra pit, it is clear that any tales of infamy are lost on the audience who sit silently, enthralled by the dance.

Canadian emigration: is it worth it?

Posted on by Charlotte Gill

For many people, the New Year is the perfect opportunity to make a fresh start and to move somewhere exciting away from friends, family and a run-of-the-mill existence.

If you’ve decided to emigrate in 2014, you’ll know it takes lots of planning and the whole process can be daunting. Most emigrants will have visited their new home country on at least one occasion, but for some people there might be a deeper rooted reason to move overseas.

Margaret’s story
Take Margaret Johnston, who has just celebrated her first Christmas at her new home in Canada after leaving Scotland last year. When Margaret lost her husband in 2009, soon after taking early retirement, she decided it was time to move back to her place of birth, namely a town called Shelburne in Nova Scotia.

[I]t wasn’t until 1982 that I made my first of many return visits back to Canada

“I was born in Nova Scotia in 1948,” explained Margaret, who worked as a pharmacist. “My Scottish mother was a war bride and married a Canadian serviceman, settling with him in his hometown of Shelburne. When my father died in 1954, Mum and I returned to Glasgow and it wasn’t until 1982 that I made my first of many return visits back to Canada.”

In October 2013, Margaret made her final move back to Shelburne, where she has bought a traditional detached home for CAD$179,000 (approx. £98,000). Margaret’s 60-year-old heritage home in Shelburne has one large en-suite bedroom, three further bedrooms and a family bathroom. Downstairs are two reception rooms, a dining room and large kitchen. The Nova Scotia property is located in a quiet road near the centre of town, set off the road with lots of green space. Margaret is considering opening a boutique bed and breakfast.

“Nova Scotian house prices, outside the capital Halifax and its metropolis, are very favourable and slightly less expensive than an equivalent UK suburban home. Generally, homes here are larger and come with more land than in the UK,” Margaret said.

Margaret Johnston
Born in Canada, Margaret Johnston moved to Scotland in 1954. It wasn’t until October 2013 that she finally made the move back to her home town of Nova Scotia

Shelburne was once a vibrant shipbuilding town with the second deepest natural harbour in Canada – in fact the Royal Yacht docked there to allow Prince Charles and Lady Diana off to visit the museums during their honeymoon. It has also retained some of its fishing industry and a large percentage of the Atlantic prawns exported from the Americas are docked there. To the south of Shelburne, the town of Yarmouth operates a regular summer ferry from Portland, Maine, so that passengers tend to stop in Shelburne on their way to Halifax.

How to move to Canada
While Margaret was able to move to Canada freely thanks to her Canadian citizenship, she advises British people considering a move there to prioritise getting their visa and researching employment opportunities.

“If you are below retirement age and expecting to earn income for any number of years in Canada, research the rules of employment, your tax situation and pension provision,” she advised. “And ascertain the details of any UK pension contributions already gathering in your UK pot. There is provision for state healthcare in Canada but it is basic medical, as well as hospital care. Prescriptions and some other things require contributions, which I believe can vary between provinces.”

Stewart Buchanan, author of the Canada Buying Guide, concludes: “The Canadian Government, through Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), sees immigration as vital for increasing the country’s population, as well as growing its skill base. Among the various visas offered by CIC, one of the most popular with expats is the Federal Skilled Worker Program. However, check the CIC website to see when applications for specific visa types are being accepted and whether there are any caps that would affect you. Employing a suitably qualified migration agents can be a great help for some people.”

Richard Way is the Editor of The Overseas Guides Company, 0207 898 0549.

Shanghai’s museum revolution

Posted on by Charlotte Gill

Wang Wei has been collecting art for a long time. She and her billionaire husband, Liu Yiqian, began to amass what is now one of the most important private art collections in China over 20 years ago. But it wasn’t until 2009, when Wang saw some of her ‘red classics’ in an exhibition of revolution-era Chinese art at the National Museum of China, that she began to think seriously about opening a gallery of her own.

The Long Museum, Wang’s 10,000 sq m art space in the Pudong district of Shanghai, opened in November 2012. A second Shanghai space, the Long Museum West Bund, is due to open on the banks of the Huangpo in a newly developed area known as the Xuhui Riverside on March 28. At 33,000 sq m, it dwarfs the Pudong building, where Wang’s ‘red classics’ hang alongside her extensive collection of contemporary Asian art and the traditional Chinese paintings favoured by Liu.

The chief curator hadn’t planned on expanding so quickly and admits she “feels a little pressure” now that she’s at the helm of not one but two gigantic Shanghai museums, but she’s taking it all in her stride. Her husband, Wang says, is a great source of support.

Expanding scene
The Long Museum West Bund is just the latest in an extraordinary wave of high profile public and private museum and gallery openings energising the Shanghai cultural scene, part of a wider boom in museum-building taking place throughout China. The last couple of years alone have seen the relocation of the China Art Museum to the former China Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo, a huge step up in terms of scale; the launch of the Yuz Museum, a Chinese home for the collection of the Indonesian-Chinese collector Budi Tek, who opened a space in Jakarta in 2008; and the relocation of the Shanghai Himalayas Museum (another private institution) to an enormous new space in Pudong. The list goes on.

Government support for state-run museums in China has been very generous in recent years

The year 2012 also witnessed the inauguration of the city’s first public contemporary art museum, the Power Station of Art (PSA), which occupies a converted power station in a former industrial area on the river, directly opposite the site of the Shanghai Expo.

Li Xu, a respected curator with over 25 years’ experience in the field of Chinese contemporary art, is deputy director of planning at the museum. The opening of the PSA, he says, was significant not just in terms of the Shanghai art scene, but for China as a whole.

“Chinese contemporary art has been developing for 30 years but it has not had an [official] platform,” explains Li. He points to gradual changes in the state’s attitude to contemporary art since the 1990s, flagging up the launch of the Shanghai Biennale in 1996 as a “turning point”. The 2000 Biennale, the first to include international artists, was another important moment, he says.

“Chinese traditional culture needs to be internationalised and modernised,” he said. “The traditional language must be spoken in a contemporary grammar. And it must be international, or it will only be a murmur to yourself.”

The PSA has a crucial role to play. “It should be an intersection, a platform for communication between China and the world, the international art community.”

International engagement
Wang sees her institution in a similar light. The Long Museum, like the PSA, presents international work alongside that of Chinese artists. Not to quite the same scale – while the PSA opened with the 9th Shanghai Biennale and followed up with Andy Warhol: 15 Minutes Eternal, the Long Museum has so far hosted only one exhibition featuring international work, Clues of Asia: Asian Contemporary Art from the Long Collection ­– but Wang is ambitious.

The international programme will be extended with the opening of the West Bund building, which boasts more space for temporary exhibitions, she says. “It will be very good to build up some more connections with the international community, especially private museums abroad, and to maybe have some exchange exhibitions both here in China and abroad.”

But developing closer links with the international art community is not just about facilitating loans of art works and working together on touring exhibitions – though that is, of course, paramount. While not seeking to denigrate the Chinese museum sector, it is undoubtedly the case that the whole community, still very much in its infancy, can learn a great deal from more established institutions elsewhere.

Wang acknowledges this to be the case. In September the Long Museum hosted the 1st China Private Museum Forum 2013, a one-day event that brought leaders from art and heritage institutions across the country together with representatives from international organisations, including the Guggenheim, to discuss how to ensure a sustainable future for private museums in China.

Tempting crowds
Public institutions like the PSA do not face the same funding issues as private museums like Wang’s – government support for state-run museums in China has been very generous in recent years and will continue to be so – but there are other challenges that the two models share. Visitor numbers, for example, have been underwhelming at both the PSA and the Long Museum, which welcomed around 250,000 and 50,000 respectively in 2013. Compare this to the 5.25 million who visited London’s Tate Modern in 2001 (the first full year of operations for the museum) or the Chinese government’s projected figure for total museum attendance in China by 2020: one billion.

Wang reports herself “satisfied with the current operation situation of the museum” but a certain disappointment with attendance figures is implicit in her comment that “people here in China are different to people in the West. People in the West queue up to see exhibitions in every museum and less people do that [here]”. She describes the various strategies in place to try to boost visitor numbers, including public lecture programmes for adults and children and a range of membership schemes.

For his part, Li cites the PSA’s inconvenient location and poor transport links as the primary reason for low attendance at the museum – problems that he hopes can be remedied in due course.

He also acknowledges that contemporary art is still very much a minority interest in both Shanghai and China as a whole. “But this small group of people who love contemporary art – this community – is growing very fast,” he says. Whether it’s growing fast enough to ensure the survival of China’s new generation of mega museums, including the Long Museum and the PSA, only time will tell. Li certainly hopes so.

Juliana Buhring: around the world by bike in 152 days

Posted on by Charlotte Gill

The first woman to cycle around the world and author of an internationally bestselling book, Juliana Buhring is an inspirational figure. In 2012, Buhring cycled 29,064km, covering four continents and 19 countries. Of the 152 days it took her to set the Guinness World Record for the Fastest Circumnavigation of the World by Bicycle, 144 days were spent pedalling.

Juliana Buhring
Starting and ending in Naples, Buhring’s journey took her to some of the world’s top travel destinations, from the Australian desert to the Istanbul coast

Starting her journey in Naples, Buhring cycled through France and Spain to Portugal, where she caught a flight to Boston, Massachusetts. Buhring cycled across the US, before continuing her journey through New Zealand and the Australian desert. From here, she flew to Singapore, where she continued north through South East Asia and afterwards, India. Flying into Turkey, Buhring cycled along the coastline, making her way back to Italy and completing her journey on December 22, 2012.

Prior to her decision to circumnavigate the world, Buhring barely cycled. Despite resounding discouragement from those around her, she trained for eight months on an ordinary bike, immersing herself in the world of fitness and endurance. She was not a professional athlete, but she was determined. Wanting to test – and prove – that ordinary people are capable of great things, Buhring set out without sponsorship, financial backing, or technical and medical support, on a basic road bike.

“I’m a very normal person. I don’t think [what I’ve done] is amazing. I think everyone has the ability to do a lot of things and they just don’t; most people never find out what they’re capable of. It’s fear of failure of fear of consequences,” said Buhring.

Buhring-on-bike
Despite having barely cycled before she decided to circumnavigate the world by bike, Buhring looks like a natural after just eight months of intensive training

“Everyone has greatness within them and you don’t need to cycle the world to do something great. Doing something extraordinary means something different for every person, so it’s just about doing something out of the ordinary for you. And that’s extraordinary. For me [cycling] is what I’m doing, but it’s different for the next guy.”

The challenge to cycle around the world 
In order to qualify for the title, Guinness World Records requires the rider to cover 28,970km – the world’s circumference – by bike, passing through two antipodal points. The ride must commence and end in the same location and must not deviate more than five degrees off course. The same bicycle must be used throughout and the clock does not stop on any occasion.

Her endeavour was financed only by the online donations of friends and supporters. Despite almost running out of money along the way, as well as being chased by a pack of dogs, attacked by magpies and encircled by an Indian mob, Buhring was determined to complete her goal. From a broken gear shifter, 29 flat tires, six broken spokes, four serious falls, and a broken pedal, to a smashed iPhone and nearly freezing to death in a New Zealand mountain pass, Buhring came to know the meaning of ‘endurance’.

Yet some of the endurance was more mental than physical. Talking about her cycle through the Australian desert, Buhring said: “It was the most mind-numbing part of the cycle. It’s the world’s longest straight road and there are no trees.”

Kangaroo
A kangaroo warning sign in the Australian desert. Buhring described the stretch as the most mind-numbing part of the journey

“I didn’t know there was a border you pass through right in the middle of the Nullarbor. So I had brought this pack of fresh oranges to take with me through,” Burhing added.

“There was this big woman just waiting [at the border] and she was like, ‘You’re not bringing those oranges through my border.’ She took my oranges. I knew they were like gold out there and she was having them for lunch, so I took them right back from her and I was like, ‘Fine! I’m eating them right now!’ And I stood in front of her, peeled and ate all of them while she glowered over me. It was great!”

After the Guinness World Record
In 2013, Buhring hit the road once again, this time in the Quick Energy Transcontinental Race. Considered Europe’s longest and most difficult unsupported bicycle race, it spans from London, through the Alps, finishing in Buhring’s favourite cycling location, Istanbul. Buhring was the sole female cyclist in a host of 31 riders.

Coast Istanbul
The picturesque Istanbul coastline included some of Buhring’s favourite cycling terrain

The competitors are required to cycle alone, reliant on what they can carry or access from publicly available services along the way. They are not permitted to arrange any support prior to the race and must pass through several checkpoints. Additionally, the participants are permitted to choose their resting points, if they decide to rest at all.

In another triumphant feat, Buhring placed ninth, cycling 2,420km in just 12 days and two hours. When asked where she gets her rushes from now, Buhring recounted the similarity between meditation and endurance cycling. She also enjoys archery and sea kayaking off the coast of Italy. As for her next destination, it has to be Mongolia, exploring the entire country by bike, foot or horseback.

A born fighter
Born in Greece to members of the Christian cult the Children of God (now known as The Family International), Buhring spent her childhood moving from country to country, often on the run and without formal education or healthcare. Escaping ‘The Family’ at the age of 23, Buhring found her feet in the wider world.

She attributes her zeal to growing up in such unconventional circumstances. After adapting to life in open society, she hopes other children with similar upbringings will realise their own capabilities. She is on the board of directors for the Safe Passage Foundation, a charity for children suffering abuse at the hands of cults. In circumnavigating the globe, Buhring hoped to raise awareness and funds for the charity, which she continues to support in all her endeavours.

Buhring wrote the international bestseller, Not Without My Sister, with sisters Kristina and Celeste Jones. Together, they tell their tales of childhood suffering in the infamous cult. The book, published in 2007, has been translated into nine languages, including French, German and Dutch.

But Juliana Buhring does not want to be defined by her past; she hates to be characterised as a ‘cult-survivor’ or ‘damaged’ purely because of the environment she was born into. On the contrary, she believes she is stronger and more able to cope with the challenges of life because of her difficult childhood. Her incredible achievements prove exactly that.

India’s beauty and industry in Rajasthan

Posted on by Charlotte Gill

A country as large and diverse as India offers travellers so many different experiences that you could never fit them all into one visit. While all India enthusiasts passionately promote their favourite region as the first port of call, no area epitomises India’s rich cultural and natural tapestry as well as Rajasthan.

The largest state in the country, Rajasthan is known as the Land of the Kings, on account of the many Maharajahs that ruled the city-states within its borders. It encompasses barren deserts, sumptuous palaces, lush rainforests, vast lakes, and soaring mountains. Discounting beaches, every category of dream scenery is covered.

Found to the northwest of the country, it’s a short trip from the capital of Delhi, as well as India’s most famous landmark, the Taj Mahal, in the nearby city of Agra. A trip to either of these sites should include a jaunt around the country’s most spectacular state.

The ideal time to visit is after the baking summer months and before the onset of the monsoons. November to May can get very busy with tourists, but there is enough to see to avoid being swamped by foreign visitors. Getting around Rajasthan could not be easier, with all manners of transport options. The most lavish is undoubtedly the Palace on Wheels train service, which offers visitors their own luxurious cabins, traditional food, and impeccable views of the surrounding landscapes. It is the best way to get to the following essential destinations for anyone wishing to visit this culturally abundant land.

Jaipur: The Pink City
Dubbed The Pink City thanks to its uniquely painted architecture, Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan and the state’s largest city. Built in the eighteenth century as India’s first planned metropolis, Jaipur is one of the country’s most visited tourist destinations and part of the so-called Golden Triangle, alongside Delhi and Agra. In the northeast of the state, it is just over four hours from Delhi by train. Once there, the usual swarm of auto-rickshaws will do battle for your business, although more comfortable – and reliable – taxis are also widely available.

Few regions boast both remote desert landscape and lush jungle, but Rajasthan has just that in the form of Ranthambore National Park

Littered with historical sites, including the lavish City Palace, Govind Dev Ji Temple, Birla Mandir Temple and the Vidhan Sabha. The city is also home to a number of notable Rajput forts. The magnificent walls around the older city of Jaipur were built in 1727 and encase many of the sites tourists travel to see. Inside the city walls lies the bustling Parkota Market, which fuels the local economy and provides visitors with all manner of trinkets.

It has been written in law since 1876 that residents in the old city must keep buildings painted pink to emulate the red sandstone of traditional Mughal architecture. However, Jaipur spreads far beyond the walls of the old city. Business hotels are springing up to cater for the multiplying tourists; many hotels overlook the nearby Jal Mahal Palace that sits in the Man Sagar Lake.

When you reach Jaipur, look to stay at one of the numerous heritage hotels, rather than a modern build. Leading the way is the nineteenth-century Naila Bagh Palace, which is surrounded by sprawling gardens and was once home to the Prime Minister of Jaipur.

Another popular site is the nearby Amer Fort (also known as the Amber Palace), a stunning red sandstone and marble palace sitting high up on a hill just under seven miles from Jaipur. Lived in by the Rajput Maharajas, the palace is now open to the public and receives around 5,000 visitors each day.

Jodhpur: The Blue City
The dazzling blue rooftops of Rajasthan’s second-largest city, and its location on the edge of the Thar Desert, earn it the dual monikers The Blue City and the Gateway to Thar. Also one of the state’s oldest cities, it was founded in 1459 by Rajputs as the capital to the state of Marwar.

Rajasthan's Jal Mahal Palace reflected in Man Sagar Lake
Rajasthan’s Jal Mahal Palace reflected in Man Sagar Lake

The blue painted houses give the city a distinct and beautiful presence in relatively barren landscape. As with many of Rajasthan’s cities, Jodphur has historic forts and palaces winding up its hills. The largest and most prominent is the Mehrangarh Fort, which the city was built around. In its entire 500-year history the fort was never taken by force, in part due to the 150m-high hill it sits atop.

Within the walls of the fort are many spectacular sites, including the pearl-covered Moti Mahal hall whose stained glass windows bathe the interiors in a spectrum of coloured light. A similarly breathtaking site is the Sheesh Mahal, a hall covered in mirrors. The Zenana Deodi Chowk is a courtyard that lies inside the central part of the palace, with staggeringly detailed sandstone carvings in the walls. Spectacular views of the city can be found at the top of the fort, providing the perfect photograph tourists. Just one kilometre downhill from the Mehrangarh Fort is the Jaswant Thada, a royal cenotaph built entirely of marble and situated on the banks of a lake.

As in Jaipur, there are typical business hotels and expensive international brands. However, looking a little deeper will unveil a number of hotels that occupy once-grand havelis – the private mansions of the region’s wealthiest families. One of the most lavish is the Hotel Madho Vilas, which was built in the early 1940s from red and pink sandstone. Another is the Water Habitat Retreat, by Kayalana Lake. The owners are committed to helping local Marwar villages source safe drinking water through the Jal Bhagirathi Foundation.

Udaipur and Octopussy
Famous as the spectacular location of 1980s Bond film Octopussy, Udaipur boasts one of the most stunning sites in India. Lying in the middle of Lake Pichola is the dazzling white marbled Jag Niwas, a palace that has now been converted into the Taj Lake Palace Hotel. Voted the most romantic hotel in India, the building can only be reached by boat from a small jetty on the side of lake. Now owned by the Taj Group, the palace is not a cheap stay, but the cost is justified by the unique setting. Rooms are situated around a central courtyard that houses a huge lily pond and is covered in orange trees and jasmine, while exterior rooms benefit from direct views of the lake.

As with many of Rajasthan’s cities, Jodphur has historic forts and palaces winding up its hills

Located towards the south of Rajasthan, Udaipur is roughly 350 miles from Jaipur. Easily reached by land and rail, Udaipur’s airport has also recently been upgraded to international status, offering flights from outside the country. As well as the usual throng of auto-rickshaw drivers, private taxis ferry people all over the city, although its small size means walking Udaipur’s winding backstreets is an ideal way of discovering its secrets.

Such has been Octopussy’s effect on tourism, that many bars and restaurants frequently show the film. However, there is more to the city than its lake palace and James Bond trivia. The City Palace, on the shore of Lake Pichola, was built in 1559 and houses most of the city’s historical artifacts. There is also the Jagdish Temple, a notable example of Indo-Aryan architecture from the fifteenth century. Another island on the lake is the Jag Mandir, built during the sixteenth century as a summer resort. It has also been used as a refuge for asylum seekers, but now houses a restaurant and luxurious spa. The short trip up a nearby hill leads to the Monsoon Palace, a resort used by the Maharajahs during the blistering summer months. It also offers excellent views of the city and surrounding countryside.

Jaisalmer’s desert pursuits
Far out in the west of Rajasthan is the desert town of Jaisalmer, known as The Golden City on account of its yellow sandstone architecture and fort, which still houses much of the city’s population. Right in the middle of the remote Thar Desert, the city has a population of nearly 80,000 and is the closest in the state to the border with Pakistan.

Founded in 1156, Jaisalmer has been occupied by many different groups, notably during medieval times when it was conquered by Mughal invaders. As a result, it has a diverse mix of Muslim and Hindu cultural heritage. One of the last regions to sign a treaty with the British, Jaisalmer enjoyed a long history of trade due to its desert location. However, since partition in 1947, the rise in prominence of Mumbai, and the closure of trade routes into Pakistan, it has become somewhat isolated.

The fort is the only remaining ‘working fort’ in India, with plenty of people living and trading there. The crumbling buildings within have undergone extensive renovation in recent years, with many of the intricately decorated Jain temples being restored to their former glory. The primary source of income for the city, however, is tourism, and within the fort’s walls a number of havelis offer accommodation, although there are a good deal of larger – and more comfortable – hotels on the outskirts of Jaisalmer. Access to the city is slightly trickier than for others in Rajasthan, although a dedicated airport is due to open soon.

Nowadays, Jaisalmer provides tourists with the perfect location from which to venture out into the surrounding desert on the back of a camel. Trips can be arranged to vast sand dunes, and camel safaris can last as long as you like. Sleeping under stars in the desert is popular, and a plethora of operators provide accommodation and activities. This can include dune bashing, parasailing and a Rajasthani cultural evening that takes in singing, dancing and a fire-cooked feast.

Ranthambore’s wildlife
Few regions boast both remote desert landscape and lush jungle, but Rajasthan has just that in the form of Ranthambore National Park. Ranthambore is famed for its tiger reserve and wildlife sanctuary and is around 160km from Jaipur, which is where the nearest airport can be found.

Officially a national park since the mid-1950s, it is one of the best places in the whole of India to see tigers roaming the forests. The park is also home to a wide variety of other wildlife, including leopards, wild boar, the sloth bear, hyenas, as well as many reptiles and plants. To discover these marvels of nature, visitors can take part in twice-daily safari rides, which can be booked through one of the region’s many tour operators but, as the park is split into five zones, you might find yourself on numerous safaris to take in the entire range of natural sites it has to offer.

Any trip to Rajasthan would be incomplete without a visit to a local fort, and the Ranthambore Fort is an archetypal example. Built in the tenth century, it sits 700ft above the plains of the national park, and includes beautiful temples dedicated to the gods Shiva, Ganesh and Ramlalji. At the heart of the park lies the vast Padam Talao Lake, and on its banks sits India’s largest banyan tree.

The ideal time to visit is either November or May, when the forests are most lush. Bordered by the Banas River to the north and the Chambal River in the south, it is a far cry from the dusty deserts in the eastern parts of Rajasthan. Plenty of guesthouses and resorts can be found on the outskirts of the park, varying from the basic to the more luxurious, of which the Nahargarh Ranthambhore hotel offers the most high-end rooms.

Cambodia: a forgotten kingdom?

Posted on by Charlotte Gill

A country with such a rich cultural history and diverse natural landscape should have tourists flocking to its shores, but Cambodia has struggled to attract great attention from holidaymakers. Despite possessing stunning tropical locations, affluent tourists visiting southeast Asia have tended to shun Cambodian beaches in favour of the supposedly safer and more developed Thai resorts.

With the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime still fresh in many people’s minds, it seems travellers to the region believe Cambodia still possesses the dangers apparent during that period and the years following their ousting. If tourists do venture into the country, it is usually just to see the admittedly breathtaking forest temples of Angkor Wat. However, they should not be deterred by such safety concerns, as Cambodia’s beaches, and the resorts near them, offer a beautiful and cheaper alternative to Thailand’s overcrowded options.

Many of the tourists that do visit Cambodia are more often than not the offspring of wealthy westerners, recently released from the clutches of school and undertaking a misguided attempt at spiritual enlightenment. Such trips of discovery usually include the morally questionable acts of firing assault rifles on shooting ranges without a licence and lounging around on beaches in a drunken stupor.

Ready and waiting
Nonetheless, there are plenty of attractions for more mature travellers with a serious interest in the cultural heritage of Cambodia – as well as the crucially important tropical beaches.

[Angkor Wat] is one of the most spectacular marriages of human achievement and natural beauty

Perhaps southeast Asia’s greatest architectural site, Angkor Wat served as the seat of the Khmer Empire that ruled between the ninth and fifteenth centuries. In 2007, the colossal site was proven, through the use of satellite photographs, to be the world’s largest preindustrial city, stretching more than 1,000sq km. Now covered by thick rainforest, Angkor Wat is home to a vast network intricately decorated ruins and is an UNESCO World Heritage site. It is one of the most spectacular marriages of human achievement and natural beauty.

The ruins are located by the modern city of Siem Reap, which is where most of the hotels and resorts can be found. The gateway to the Angkor region, its main purpose is providing accommodation and a base for the many tourists that go to see the nearby ruins. Lacking its own character, it is little more than a jump-off point for the adventures found in the nearby forests.

Not a typical holiday pastime, for mollycoddled westerners eager for a bit of danger in their lives, one of the main attractions Cambodia has to offer is a large number of shooting ranges. Tourists can, for surprisingly small fees, pretend they’re getting ready for battle by firing a vast arsenal of weapons – from handguns to assault rifles, heavy-duty machine guns to grenades. Some places even offer the opportunity to fire a rocket launcher.

The country has a number of tropical beaches that rival any found in Thailand and Vietnam. Comparatively underdeveloped, you’ll still find the comforts that tourists require. The most developed resort at Sihanoukville was built in the 1950s and enjoyed a roaring trade until the late-1970s. Other less developed, but equally beautiful, beaches can be found along the coast, such as Koh Tonsay, Koh Rong, and Kampot.

Remembering the past
For anyone visiting Cambodia, it would be remiss not to visit the sites of some of the worst crimes against humanity in the last century. In the capital of Phnom Penh, one of the starkest examples of this brutality is found at the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, which was formerly Security Prison 21 under the Khmer Rouge regime.

[I]t would be remiss not to visit the sites of some of the worst crimes against humanity in the last century

The site was once a high school, but was used as a prison, interrogation and execution centre by the regime. It is thought that as many as 20,000 people were held there between 1975 and 1979. The barbaric conditions led to all manner of diseases for its inhabitants, and many died as a result. Nowadays, the prison has been transformed into a museum and kept as a reminder of the horrors of the period. The cramped cells have been preserved, with photos of some of the unfortunate victims on the walls as a tribute. While not a happy place to peruse, it does offer tourists a dramatic and informative insight into the country’s past.

Even grimmer reminders of the period are the many mass burial sites around the country that have been dubbed the Killing Fields. The most obvious example is found at the village of Choeung Ek, where mounds of skulls have been collected in a Buddhist monument tower.

Corruption on the border
One of the problems facing the tourism industry in Cambodia is the country’s high level of bribery and corruption. Border crossings in and out of the country often come with hidden costs from unscrupulous officials; stamping out such practices has proven difficult for the authorities, and often deters visitors.

Encouraging investment into the country’s tourism – certainly that outside of Angkor Wat – will be difficult for the government unless it addresses corruption and improves its infrastructure. Shockingly bad roads mean driving cross-country or accessing the beaches are often very uncomfortable affairs. The country also needs to do more to dissuade the international tourist community that it is comparatively lawless and a destination for people not welcome in their home countries.

While progress has been made – visitors jumped from just under 120,000 in 1993 to 2.9 million in 2012 – more needs to be done to properly rival the sorts of numbers that neighbouring Thailand and Vietnam enjoy. For years an ignored blot on the Indochina peninsula, Cambodia is now ready to reap the benefits that tourism can bring to its economy.

The bill for activism: how much does social unrest impact tourism?

Posted on by Charlotte Gill

It was a busy year for political activists in 2013. Street protests engulfed Turkey, Brazil, Thailand, Egypt and many other countries – indeed, since the Arab Spring erupted over four years ago, civil unrest has been a constant fixture in the news the world over.

Though protests have died down in Brazil, for the time being at least, the prospect of the World Cup coming to a country fraught with unrest has been enough for Sepp Blatter to urge Brazilian football fans to get off the streets (and into stadiums) come June, to ensure the smooth running of a global event.

“Brazil asked to host the World Cup,” Blatter said, as if to remind Brazilians that FIFA is not the cause of their grievances. Of course, that’s neither here nor there, but the threat of social unrest upsetting a tourism event worth hundreds of billions of dollars was enough to make the president of FIFA quiver in his boots.

A developing problem
It may seem crass to put a price on social unrest, but for the global tourism industry that is a real issue. According to IBISWorld’s Global Tourism market research report, the global tourism industry was worth an estimated $1.4trn in 2013, and the market is growing 2.5 percent per year. Europe and North America continue to dominate in terms of visitors, but increasingly Asia and the Middle East are growing their shares.

“Many developing countries also derive a much higher share of their gross domestic products from tourism receipts than developed countries,” writes Eric Neumeyer, from the LSE, in The Impact of Political Violence on Tourism.

[T]ourists will easily switch to another destination if faced with violence

“Economic theory predicts that tourists consume certain characteristics of a tourist destination rather than a single good,” he writes. “Unless these characteristics are very specific to the country and highly valued, tourists will easily switch to another destination if faced with violence.”

Tourists will always find another destination for their holidays, even if what they were looking for is location-specific. For instance, people keen on visiting the Egyptian pyramids might be dismayed by the prospect of public violence in the streets of Cairo, but they will not be sad for long. In fact, they will only mourn the loss of their holiday for as long as it takes to find another historically exciting destination in a far-flung location where there’s no chance of encountering rubber bullets.

It has long been known that public protests come with a hefty price tag, but because of the sensitive nature of the subject, the costs to the tourism industry are hardly ever mentioned. It has been estimated that the Brazilian tourism industry is worth $11bn, while Turkey makes something in the region of $26bn annually. These are not small figures, and in developing countries like these, whole communities rely on this income. The loss of any of it, for any reason, can be catastrophic for the local population.

The impact of social unrest on local tourism industries 
Turkey, Brazil and Egypt derive large portions of their incomes from tourism, and the latter two in particular have been struggling economically. It would be foolish for these countries to dismiss the huge economic and social contributions tourism brings them. By no means should this be taken as an excuse for the oppression of popular uprisings, but it is important to weigh the economic costs. If anything, determining the financial burden of street violence should serve as encouragement for the peaceful resolution of any conflict.

An anti-government protestor holds a blooded Egyptian flag in Tahrir Square in Cairo
An anti-government protestor holds a blooded Egyptian flag in Tahrir Square in Cairo

In Egypt, where tourism accounts for between five and six percent of the GDP, according to estimates, violence derived from the forceful repression of street protests has been ongoing for much of the past four years. Though the influx of tourists travelling to Egypt has decreased in this time, the worst is yet to come, according to Neumeyer’s research.

“In a dynamic context, we see that the short-term effect is often considerably smaller than the long-term effect,” he wrote. “The long-term effects of human rights violations and the two conflict measures [used for the research] are of similar importance: a substantial increase lowers tourist arrivals by around 27 percent in the long run.”

Violence doesn’t pay
It is important to stress however, that unrest in one, or even a few countries is not enough to affect the revenue of the tourism industry globally. As Neumeyer has pointed out, tourists will simply change their minds and go somewhere else. For the countries involved though, results can be catastrophic. “Those [countries] mildly dependent on tourism receipts are more vulnerable to the impact of political violence,” concludes the LSE research paper.

It does not need to be said that the highest cost of political violence is not measured in dollars, but in lives. By opting for conflict resolution policies that do not involve violent repression, governments can help diminish the impact of social unrest on long-term inflows of visitors and thus protect this vital industry.

Tourism has long since been a vital resource for development, as well as a source of income. Social unrest is a symptom of public dissatisfaction with slow progress, lack of development and inequality in wealth distribution. To remove tourism – and the revenues it generates – from the public debate is nothing short of a mistake.

Australia wants its art back

Posted on by Charlotte Gill

Now that the two disputed paintings of Australian wild animals by George Stubbs, the English old master, are certain to stay in Britain, Australia’s National Gallery will have to find suitable replacements for the works its director is convinced belong Down Under. The eighteenth-century versions of a dingo and a kangaroo will adorn the collection of London’s National Maritime Museum after a last-minute round of fundraising by benefactors.

But from the very outset Australia’s insistence that the masterpieces are its own had no basis in reason. It was, as the Aussies say, a ‘try-on’.

Dr Ron Radford, the veteran curator who has run the National Gallery for eight years, rests his case that the paintings are “central” to Australia’s art on two main arguments. First, anything depicting the country’s admittedly unique wildlife, regardless of who painted it, belongs to Australia as if by right.

Second – and here he’s clutching at straws – the two works are not integral to the story of Captain Cook and therefore do not belong in the National Maritime Museum. This he argues on the dubious grounds that Stubbs painted them after the navigator’s death.

Artistic patriotism
Now we get into reductio ad absurdum. Taking this position to its logical conclusion, Australia would have a moral claim to any work of importance that features Australiana including kangaroos, dingoes, wallabies, koalas or geckos for that matter. That would include portraits of aborigines, scenes of the Outback, the running of the Melbourne Cup or even a landscape of Bondi Beach.

The Australian art crowd has long taken artistic patriotism to extreme levels. This is quite understandable in the context of paintings by such towering figures as Albert Namatjira, Emily Kngwarreye, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri and other great aboriginal artists, as well as by its great home-grown painters such as the surrealist Sidney Nolan with his Ned Kelly series. These are the works of Australians, they are about Australia and most of them were painted in Australia.

But there are limits to what can be considered a nation’s rightful heritage. In 2009 there was a tug-of-war over the plaster cast bust of Truganini, Tasmania’s most famous aboriginal woman, held by the British Museum. The state’s “outraged” aboriginal community wanted it back, arguing among other reasons that Truganini was her people’s last full-blood. The museum refused, arguing it was the work of English sculptor Benjamin Law done in 1835.

Stubbs…never got anywhere near Australia. Indeed he never travelled further than Italy, and even then only briefly

As for English-born Stubbs, he never got anywhere near Australia. Indeed he never travelled further than Italy, and even then only briefly. A self-taught expert in animal anatomy, he was only able to paint the kangaroo from a skin that he managed cleverly to inflate to life-like size. The rest of the detail – and remarkably the distinctive red, dry rock of the hinterland – he artfully filled in from spoken accounts.

Trivial dispute
If the national galleries of other countries were to adopt Dr Radford’s arguments, curators from all over Africa would be demanding as their rightful heritage Stubbs’ other paintings of exotic animals such as lions, tigers, giraffes, monkeys and rhinoceroses, in an age that was fascinated by beasts from remote parts of the world. At least the painter didn’t have to inflate them – he used to visit the private zoos established by the nobility around that period for the amusement of themselves.

But back to the two paintings. Certainly important works by an acknowledged master, they were both done by Stubbs in 1772 when he had established a reputation as a leading – and perhaps the leading – painter of animals. But the works also have an historic importance for naturalists – they were probably the very first depictions of a kongorou, as the marsupial was known, and of a dingo.

They also shed light on the methods of the self-taught artist. Turning away from the noble classical themes that preoccupied many painters of the period, he decided after his trip to Italy that “nature was and is always superior to art [as it was then practised]”. In short, he would eschew ruins for reality. True to his mission, before attempting to depict horses, he took up the study of human and animal anatomy. In the case of horses, he did not do so from a safe distance, but by carving them up with the help of Mary Spencer, his common-law wife, clearly not a squeamish lass, and developing a sense of how they were made.

In a period when patronage by the nobility, many of whom much preferred the company of animals to people, could assure the future of an artist, Stubbs soon began receiving rich commissions from turf-mad toffs who could see the lad from Liverpool had a better eye for the lines of a horse than did other painters of the racetrack. The two disputed paintings were done when the increasingly wealthy Stubbs lived in a house in fashionable Marylebone, London, where he would stay for the rest of his life.

Trove of culture
However, even without the attraction of Stubbs’ paintings, the National Gallery’s collection of European art more than justifies a visit by anybody visiting the capital city of Canberra. It starts from the late eighteenth century, which is Stubbs’ period, and tells a long story of the development of western art up to the present day. Particularly fascinating for Australians and non-Australians alike is the gallery’s definitive collection of the nation’s own art in the way it reveals how succeeding generations of painters, sculptors and others saw their country.

And there are always new reasons for visiting the gallery. The most recent acquisitions include an exquisitely worked silver yachting trophy from 1849, a landscape by early south Australian painter JM Skipper, a ‘primitive’ painting of a cat among fish by another early colonial William Buelow Gould, and The Music Lesson painted in 1925 by Alexandra Exter, the Franco-Russian who helped found the art deco movement.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the world, the National Maritime Museum’s definitive acquisition of Stubbs’ works provides two more reasons for visiting its vast array of art. One of the biggest museums of its kind in the world, it is a treasure trove of culture and a jewel in the Greenwich district of the city of London.

Gin: what’s got us hooked?

Posted on by Charlotte Gill

‘Mothers’ ruin’, ‘rotgut’, ‘strip-me-naked’: not a list of dodgy nightclubs, but pseudonyms for gin, a spirit burdened with names that conjure disaster and strife. Its negative narrative is epitomised by William Hogarth’s Gin Lane, a 1751 etching of drunken debauchery on a London street, which was shared widely to put people off the spirit.

Hogarth's Gin Lane. Click on the image for a larger version
Hogarth’s Gin Lane. Click on the image for a larger version

In the mix

Now you know a little more about gin, what do the experts recommend by way of gin drink recipes?

Emil and Joe, Brooklyn Gin: “Brooklyn Gin Martini. Three part Brooklyn Gin, one part Dolin Dry, a dash of orange bitters, garnished with a lemon twist. We’re also a sucker for a good gin and tonic. Our friends at Saxon + Parole make one of our favourites with their own tonic.”

Jon, Hernö: “London dry should be neat, or with a dash of tonic. Hernö Juniper Cask Gin, the world’s first juniper wood cask matured gin should always be neat.”

Sam, Sipsmith: “I think gin holds up stunningly well in a martini, likewise in a gin and tonic. Those two celebrate this gin in the best way, the flavours are big and complex, but they’re very balanced. I’m a big martini man myself.”

It is curious that a simple drink inspired such puritanical backlash. Perhaps the secretive manner of traditional home distillery has something to do with it. Maybe it’s the duplicity of the spirit’s multiple, subtle flavours. More likely (and certainly in the case of Hogarth’s depiction, which was commissioned by rival beer brewers), producers of other beverages see a real threat in the sheer popularity of gin.

Despite this, it is only in the past few years that demand for gin has edged back towards its eighteenth-century peak. Fuelled by a growing collection of independent distilleries – in turn inspired by the now-ubiquitous craft beer movement – gin is available in more varieties, and is being made in more countries, than ever before.

These small operations, many run by just one or two enthusiasts, are reviving traditional methods of gin production. Fresh fruits are peeled by hand, juniper berries are burst on site, and each bottle of spirits is sealed and labelled by its producer. Most importantly, old-style copper stills and chambers are being brought back into use.

With a still, botanicals (the ingredients selected to create each gin’s unique flavour) are heated in a neutral spirit. The vapours pass through a network of pipes; the condensed liquid is then collected and diluted with purified water. Distillers using copper chambers lay their botanicals on trays. A cloud of evaporated alcohol circulates the chamber, picking up tastes and aromas.

American origins
The movement appears to have originated in the US, where examples of craft gin can be found in almost every state. In New York, Emil Jättne and Joe Santos together founded Brooklyn Gin in 2010.

As large-scale manufacturing removes us from the origins of the things we consume, these independent projects reconnect consumers

“We’re an independent company of three people making gin here in New York,” Emil explains. “There is an attention to detail, freshness and craft that we can give our gin. We make 300 bottles at a time so we’re able to hand-peel all our citrus and hand-crack our juniper berries. That’s what makes Brooklyn Gin’s flavour so fresh.”

The individual attention Emil and Joe give each batch of gin is far removed from their mass-produced counterparts, where frozen or dried peels are used, and individual botanicals are difficult to differentiate. Crispness and complexity of flavour is a point of pride at Brooklyn Gin. “It takes some time to hand-peel all the lemons, limes, oranges and kumquats but we like the vibrant flavours we get. A top note of lavender adds complexity,” says Emil.

Yet the dedication of the Brooklyn Gin team would mean nothing if there was no market for their product. Fortunately, they have no shortage of fans. “We’re lucky that many bartenders and spirit enthusiasts recommend Brooklyn Gin to others. There is a desire for American-made spirits that are handmade with care and integrity.”

Connecting consumers
This may be the key to the success of small-batch distilling. As large-scale manufacturing removes us from the origins of the things we consume, these independent projects reconnect consumers, giving them insight into every step of the production process.

Travelling spirit

Craft gins are available one very corner of the globe. Here are some of our favourite gin drink recipes:

Monkey 47, Germany

Based on the original Black Forest recipe of Wing Commander Montgomery Collins, this gin was named after his monkey Max, who was adopted from Berlin Zoo during WWII.

Caorunn, Scotland

Made in a copper chamber to a traditional recipe with handpicked botanicals, including rowanberry, heather, bog myrtle, dandelion and apple.

The West Winds, Australia

This unique drink features all-Australian ingredients, including wattle seed and bush tomato. Small batches are created in an imported still.

Leopold’s, Colorado, US

Unusually, the Leopold brothers distil every botanical separately, as they believe it leads to a more intense and vibrant flavour.

Sam Galsworthy, from Sipsmith, an independent distillery in west London, was charmed by this notion when his job at a UK brewery transplanted him to the US. “I was exposed to a culture that really understood the drinks market at the top end. One of the areas I learnt most about was what they called ‘craft’. At the time it was all about microbreweries, but what really engaged me was the little spirit distilleries popping up. What ‘craft’ meant to me was when you use your hands to make things in really small batches – not pushing things down production lines.

“We as consumers are really keen to learn more about what we’re consuming. We want to know where it’s made, by whom, how it’s made, and when it was made, so it was fascinating to understand what was in the bottle. I was convinced the UK would welcome the opportunity to learn more about gin. A lot of people have been to a brewery, or understand what it’s about – same with wine – but when it came to spirits our insight was that nobody knew what distilling really was. Part of our mission was to lift this veil of mystery that exists over the industry.”

Like their US peers, Sipsmith have found no shortage of support. In the four years they’ve been in business over 10,000 people have visited the distillery for a tour, and Sam and the team have noticed a recent increase in demand for gins. “I think there has been an increase in other gins too and in gin bars,” says Sam. “A lot of people are really celebrating London’s great spirit, in fact, it had almost been forgotten, so it’s fantastic that so many bars are now celebrating gins.”

Despite originating in the Netherlands and Belgium as ‘jenever’, gin is most closely associated with the city of London. From the late seventeenth century, gin was universally liked in the English capital, finding fans particularly among women and the lower classes – a fact that stoked the ‘gin panic’ of the 1720s. At the height of its popularity customers only had to part with half a penny for a ladle of gin from a street vendor, and it was estimated there were 7,000 gin shops in London.

At the height of its popularity customers only had to part with half a penny for a ladle of gin

In their personal pursuit to celebrate gin’s long legacy, Sipsmith enlisted Jared Brown, a historian of spirits and the company’s Master Distiller. “He’s created a museum in the south of France all about spirits so he has access to a large number of recipes,” says Sam. “He suggested we use a combination of a couple of these as a formula for our gin. We just made a couple of tweaks to dial down the sweetness and increase how dry it was. So what we’ve created is a recreation; it’s a resurrection of an old style of gin, on an old style pot still, but with modern technology that enables consistency.”

London dry
Distilleries all over the world now produce their own twists on the classic ‘London dry’ gin. In Sweden, Hernö gin – a relative newcomer to the scene, having released its first batch in December 2012 – has been much awarded for its contribution to the craft community.

“There has never been another spirit that has interested me this much,” says Jon Hillgren, Founder and Master Distiller at Hernö. “Small scale makes it possible to adopt very subtle flavours and botanicals, which might not be possible on a big scale.”

As well as being the world’s northernmost – and Sweden’s first – distillery, Hernö uses only organic botanicals to flavour its gin. Jon settled on a harmonious blend of juniper, coriander, meadowsweet, cassia, black pepper, vanilla, lingon berries and lemon peel – hand-peeled, of course.

Karl Lagerfeld and The Little Black Jacket photo exhibition

Posted on by Charlotte Gill

In the fashion world, few names carry more weight than Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld. So when the designer and fashion editor decided to join forces in a fashion-cum-art globetrotting exhibition, there was no doubt in anybody’s mind that it was going to be a runaway success.

The result of this titanic collaboration was The Little Black Jacket, in which Lagerfeld photographed celebrities and fashion personalities wearing a classic Chanel black jacket. Shot in black and white, the pictures are all very chic, if not very interesting. Lagerfeld described the concept for the exhibition and the book as a “pure accident”.

“There was so much storm that I don’t remember whose brain it was,” he told the Wall Street Journal. He and Roitfeld thought “it would be fun to make a book with the same jacket used in 120 different ways. The interesting thing is that one simple thing: a little jacket with four pockets. You can play so much and create 120 different types. It’s play time with an item that is timeless.” With Roitfeld doing the styling and Lagerfeld the shooting, a sensation was born.

The exhibition was clever because it invited outsiders who couldn’t afford so much as a Chanel sock into the private word of Lagerfeld and his chums

There is little point in discussing the virtues of The Little Black Jacket as art, or even as fashion; what it has been is a phenomenally successful promotional exercise that has drawn in huge crowds hoping to catch a glimpse of Karl and his mates looking fabulous. The exhibition has toured 16 cities since debuting in Tokyo in April 2012. Visitors were attracted to the exhibition, and compelled to buy the book later, not just for the images of celebrities hanging on the walls (which Lagerfeld has described as a “mixture of my friends, [Carine’s] friends, people we admire, people we know. It was all about totally different styles.”), but for a taste of luxury and glamour.

Runaway hit
None of this is entirely surprising. Chanel has experienced a rebirth over the last decade, and has taken back its rightful place as ringleader of the luxury fashion pack. The exhibition was clever because it invited outsiders who couldn’t afford so much as a Chanel sock into the private word of Lagerfeld and his chums. What was surprising, though, was the playground that Roitfeld chose.

Of the 16 cities that hosted the exhibition over the last 20 months, the typical New York-Paris-Milan trifecta of fashion capitals appeared on this list, but so did Seoul, Beijing and Moscow. In fact, a number of cities on the list of host venues would never have qualified as “fashion capitals of the world”. Huge vernissages in Dubai, São Paulo and Taipei, complete with the show’s stars and international musical guests, ostensibly hail these cities as part of the fashion ‘clique’. Parties in São Paulo and Singapore – the two last stops for the exhibition – were major events gathering international celebrities and the most fashionable locals. Bloggers and ‘it girls’ rubbed shoulders with movie stars and models, signalling a shift in the axis of fashion.

Emerging economies like China, Brazil and Russia are some of the most profitable markets for ultra-luxury brands like Chanel. As well as seemingly endless appetites for fashion, the ascending middle and upper classes in these countries appear to have deeper pockets than their counterparts in Europe and the US.

Fashion legacy
Bringing The Little Black Jacket and its accompanying fanfare to China and Brazil is part of Chanel’s larger marketing strategy. The Chinese luxury goods market will be worth $27bn by 2015, according to Mckinsey, and the mega-brand currently operates 10 boutiques in the country including a number in so-called ‘second-tier’ cities, with many more on the way. “China is a new business for us,” Bruno Pavlovsky, president of Chanel Fashion told Women’s Wear Daily. “I am sure we are number one in ready-to-wear luxury sales in China.”

Emerging markets are a fierce battleground for luxury brands vying for the affection of well-heeled shoppers, but Chanel has been unique in trading its rich legacy to boost sales, and The Little Black Jacket has been a huge part of this. China was the only country to have two cities hosting the exhibition. Add Hong Kong, Taipei and Singapore to the list of Asian destinations and the balance has been tilted away from Europe and towards the Far East.

That is not to say the choice of São Paulo and Dubai was any less significant. These two cities have emerged as bastions for the luxury goods markets, and the sheer volume of ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families located there meant omission by Chanel had the potential to be very costly indeed.

Buyers in China, Brazil, Russia and the Middle East look to brands like Chanel for the status they carry. So while the company might be eager to court more buyers in these markets, creatively, Chanel must remain very European, and there are no signs of that changing anytime soon. As The Little Black Jacket prepared to wind down in Singapore, clients appear to have been soothed, Lagerfeld’s ego has certainly been stroked, and the brand has emerged the clear winner.