1. Botswana
In 2016 Botswana will
celebrate its 50th year of independence. So what, you may say. What’s there to
shout about? Well, quite a lot really. Not least the longest continuous
multi-party democracy on the continent, a progressive social outlook (Botswana
was one of the first countries to offer free antiretroviral drugs to its
citizens in 2002), minimal corruption, a healthy and enlightened tourism
industry and a fast-growing economy since independence. The country’s journey
from abject poverty in 1966 to become one of Africa’s most stable and thriving
societies is hugely inspiring and, no doubt, deserves a proverbial pat on the
back.
But that’s not all. Botswana is
a unique destination: an unusual combination of desert and delta that draws an
immense concentration of wildlife. It is wild, pristine and expansive.
Seventeen percent of the country is dedicated to national parks, many of them
spreading into the vast Transfrontier parks of Kavango-Zambezi and Kgalagadi.
This dedication to conserving some of the world’s last remaining wildernesses
was finally recognised in 2014 when the jewel in Botswana’s conservation crown,
the Okavango Delta, became Unesco’s 1000th World
Heritage Site. Despite this embarrassment of accolades, Botswana remains off
the radar for most people. The impression is: it’s too difficult to get to, it
doesn’t cater for families. But we’re here to tell you that’s all nonsense. Go
now! Go by plane, car or mokoro (canoe). Go in the green season or
the dry season – it’s all great. Go to Vumbura Plains Camp or Jao Camp with
tons of cash for the trip of a lifetime or go on a budget to community projects
like Tsabong Camel Park and Moremi Gorge. Go as a honeymooning couple to gaze
over the dreamy Zibandianja Lagoon in Linyanti or as an adventure junkie to
ride horseback through Mashatu Game Reserve. Go as a wildlife enthusiast and
track elephants in the mini-Serengeti of Savuti or meerkats on the Makgadikgadi
Pans. Go alone to take your guiding qualifications at Okavango Guiding School
or with the kids to experience Ker & Downey’s award-winning family safari
(Safari Awards 2015). Whatever you do and whenever you go, you won’t regret it.
Trust us on this one.
Life-changing experience
Botswana is so full of
life-changing experiences it would be easier to list the things that aren’t
remarkable. Here is a real wilderness that puts you in touch with palpable
primitive thrills and fears, whether it’s being poled by an African gondolier
in a mokoro past pods of sunbathing hippos in the Okavango Delta; or
feeling the spirit of the first men in the thousand-year-old rock art in the
Tsodilo Hills; or in the eerie beauty of Kubu Island’s ancient baobabs backlit
by incandescent constellations in a vast night sky.
Current craze
So called ‘car park pimping’.
Thanks to a 30% tax on alcohol and new licensing hours enforcing club closures
at 2am, Gaborone’s club scene has moved outdoors and
hijacked suburban car parks. Here the party continues around makeshift DJ decks
with experienced clubbers equipped with personal cool boxes and camping chairs.
Trending topics
Direct flights. For years the government has been clamouring for
direct international flights, and the relocation of De Beers’ sales office from
London to Gaborone (handling about US$6.5-billion worth of rough diamond sales
annually) in 2013 has undoubtedly added new pressure. Gaborone’s airport and
runway have recently been upgraded and similar upgrades are planned for Maun
and Kasane. With all the action people are hoping the long-awaited day may come
within the next 6 to 12 months.
By
Paula Hardy
Source – Lonely Planet
2. Japan
Even if you’ve never been to Japan, you probably already know
that it ranks number one in the world for that quintessential
not-in-Kansas-anymore travel experience. Its cities are expertly crafted odes
to futurism where the trains whirr by in the blink of an eye and the towers of
metal and glass are bathed in neon light. The countryside, too, feels
otherworldly, with all-continents-in-one landscapes that blend alpine peaks
with shimmering shores. And everywhere in between are prim wooden temples – the
constant reminder that a well of deep-seated traditions hides just beneath the
country’s enticing veneer of perfection.
Although Japan didn’t secure the
Olympic bid for 2016, it was resoundingly successful with its application for Tokyo in 2020. And
Olympic fever is already apparent in the capital as the city executes an
elaborate feat of urban planning that will create a brand new shopping
district, an entirely new Olympic village, and – most interestingly – move the
much-venerated Tsukiji
fish market (which sees over US$20 million in seafood sales each day)
to a sparkling new facility that is set to swing open its doors at the end of
this year. As everyone’s radioactive paranoia is finally put to rest by
honouring five years since the fateful 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, and
with the government’s continued efforts to devalue the Japanese yen, there’s no
better time to experience the country that pays such vivid tribute to manic
modernity and hallowed history.
Life-changing experience
One of the world’s most famous
pilgrimage routes after the Camino de Santiago is Japan’s Kumano Kodo near Osaka. For over a
millennium devotees of every ilk – be it farmer or emperor – would walk betwixt
hidden Oji shrines and forests of haunting trees to reach the three grand
worshipping complexes of Kumano. There are a handful of different paths that
extend like spokes around the Kii peninsula, but the goal is united in the act
of spiritual penance performed by hikers as they rigorously trek. The preferred
route – and also the oldest – is Nakahechi, which starts in the west and
travels 30km to the shrines. Unesco officially recognised the network of trails
in 2004, and over the last 12 years the walk has seen a steady increase in
foreign tourists.
Current craze
Animal cafes. Yes, cat cafes are
so 2009, and have proliferated across the globe, but in Japan – the genesis
country – animal cafes have reached new heights: hobnob with goats, sip tea
with a turtle, pose for selfies with owls, and do whisky shots while watching
penguins.
Random facts
- There
are over 5.5 million vending machines in Japan selling everything from
umbrellas and cigarettes to canned bread and hot noodles.
- Japan’s
birth rate has plummeted so significantly that adult nappies (diapers)
outsell babies’ nappies, which are also sold in vending machines.
- It
is estimated that more paper is used for manga comics than for toilet
paper in Japan. (Surprise: both are sold in vending machines as well.)
Most bizarre sight
Cafes where you can tickle owls?
Vending machines that sell canned bread? Dentists that help patients accentuate
their snaggle-teeth? Take your pick!
By Brandon Presser
Source – Lonely Planet
Source – Lonely Planet
3. Nepal
After a series of devastating earthquakes and aftershocks, Nepal’s tourist
industry is on the rise again. Though hundreds of thousands have been left
homeless, and daily life is not fully back to normal, the country’s historic
landmarks are slowly being restored. Trekking routes are reopening and the
resilient Nepali people are finding their feet. Thoughtfully spent tourist
dollars will go a long way here; choosing independent homestays and grass roots
tour companies ensures money ends up in local pockets. With varied landscapes –
from the Himalayas to jungles inhabited by tigers, elephants and rhinos – Nepal
should be your first choice for travel in 2016.
Nepal’s cultural landscape is every bit as diverse as its physical one.
– Shafik Meghji, co-author of The Rough Guide to Nepal
Source – Rough Guide
No comments:
Post a Comment