Kanoo.world.traveller.september

8/8/2019 Kanoo.world.traveller.september

1/76

Fire-breathing

in J

Cosmoolitan

Cf

Ga Amicaoad is

From cruising and schmoozing in LA to rollin

with the cowboys in Texas, the US is best explored

by car so hop in, fll up and hit the reeway

total guide

THE MIDDLE EASTS BIGGEST TRAVEL MAGAZINE SEpTEMBER 2010

Plus! Win a Weekend stay or tWo at the Cove rotana resort turn to P71 to ind out hoW

produced in InternationalMedia production Zone

Bajan Bliss

Kicking back

in Barbados

The Guls mostmid-boig

hotel rooms(including frst-look pics o

the new Yas Hotel suite!)

On theprOwl

Indian tigersaaris


2/76


3/76


4/76


5/76


6/76


7/76

Septeber 2010 K W T 5

Travel biTes feaTures

07 AgendA

Everything you need to know about travel this onth

12 Ask the expert

Your travel questions answered

14 drive time

France in the autun it doesnt get uch better

16 picture this

Daydrea with these incredible travel photos

65 thirty-second concierge

Watch turtles hatch in the Seychelles

66 city guide: jAkArtA

Youll love it or hate it but never forget it

68 city guide: cArdiff

Castle-spotting in the Principality

70 detAils

Find your nearest Kanoo outlet

71 competition

Win a stay at the Cove Rotana Resort

72 suite dreAms

The ost luxurious cave youll ever sleep in

21 essentiAl selection

Fro the sublie to the (slightly) ridiculous: we show

you around the Gulfs ost incredible hotel roos.

28 tropic of conversAtion

Baly Barbados, away fro the glitzy resorts

37 totAl guide: roAd trip usA

Want to drive through Aerica? Heres the lowdown

on where to go (and where to sleep along the way)

58 eAsy tiger

Searching for the big cats on an Indian safari

CONTENTS

Kanoo World Traveller SEPTEmBER 2010

managing Director: Victoria Hazell-Thatcher

Publishing Director: John Thatcher

Advertiseent Director: Chris Capstick

[email protected]

+971 4 369 0917

Editor: Ele Cooper

[email protected]

+971 4 375 7617

Art Editor: Jenni Dennis

[email protected]

Designer: Matthew McBriar

[email protected]

Production anager: Haneef Abdul

[email protected]

+971 4 369 0918

Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from HOT Media Publishing is strictly prohibited. All prices mentioned are

correct at time of press but may change. HOT Media Publishing does not accept liability for omissions or errors in Kanoo World Traveller.

Tropic of conversation, Total guide: USA road trips and Easy tiger reprinted with the permission of Sunday Times Travelmagazine.

Jan-June 2010

22,620 BPA

Consumer Audit

Produced by: HOT Media Publishing FZ LLC

On the cover:

Golden

Gate Bridge

Above Mist,

shot by Ed

Pritchard,

courtesy

of Getty

Images.

28 63 692248 39


8/76


9/76

AGENDABe nfrmed, be nspred, be here

Residents o Dbai wi be amiiar with the sight o the

magnicent, 60m-high, Moroccan-ste gate next to

Ibn Battta Ma and the hote it eads onto is na

opening on October 1. The ve-star propert has

396 bedrooms decked ot in Moroccan ste, whie

its sites are themed arond the contries visited

b its namesake, the amos Arabian adventrer.

The or restarants aso refect Ibn Batttas traves

(apparent Chinese was his avorite) and we reckon

hed have been prett impressed with the rootop

swimming poo, too. www.moevenpick-hotels.com

Book it Now

Ibn baTTuTa GaTe

September 2010 K W T 7


10/76

8 Kanoo World Traveller September 2010

Celebrity che Gary

Rhodes, who recentlyopened new restaurant

Rhodes Twenty10

at Dubais Le Royal

Meridien (www.

leroyalmeridien-dubai.com), tells us

where hed choose to dine when in his

home city o London.

Id either head to Le Gavroche or

La Chapelle. The ormer is a culinary

institution, opened by the godathers

o the industry the Roux brothers

and its also run by Michel Roux Jr,

whos a good riend o mine. Id order

the Tournedos et Tranche de Foie GrasPoeles, Gratin de Macaronis, Ragout

de Legumes Rotis Scotch llet o

bee and oie gras, port sauce and

trued macaroni cheese. La Chapelle,

meanwhile, is set in a beautiul old

building and has a relaxed atmosphere.

Its a great place to take riends i you

want to impress; I love the red mullet

soup with gruyre and croutons, and

also the Supreme o Landaise chicken.

www.le-gavroche.co.uk,

www.galvinrestaurants.com

I youve got a luxury-loving brood, One&Only Le Saint Gran in Mauritius could

be the ideal destination or your next holiday: book a ve-night stay there beore

September 30 (to be taken beore February 28, 2011) and youll get a complimentary

room upgrade, hal board, kids stay ree in parents room, 50 per cent of anadditional childrens room, ree ood or the youngsters, one ree babysitting session

and complimentary membership o the KidsOnly club. Its one o the best in the

world, coming with its own pool, dining areas and sandpit perect or tots who

demand nothing but the most exclusive care. www.oneandonlyresorts.com

Suite deal

Global Gourmet

Base Qatar

Next time yourestaying in the Qatari

capital check out

the newly opened

Oryx Rotana: its

the closest hotel to

Doha airport, making

it perect or short

stays, but the Jazz

Club, opulent pooland city-sleek dcor

are sure to make you

want to extend your

trip. www.rotana.com

ONE-MINUTE MASTERCLASS: ITALIAN H, y n is Sv, i

chi Id ik h chs nd pizz ps Vi pizzghi p v I dn spk Iin vy w Nn p

n iin D y ind i I sk? ti d sidi s ?


11/76

September 2010 Kanoo World Traveller 9

agenda| news

mdi, 12k h ciy cn

13 ds

Dws n h idings cni ps, wih

pid nd dn egypin

th p, sndd y n, ng,

iv, gv nd p s

F $265; www.vipq.c

Cnich, Gdn Ciy

191 ds

Shing ns ivnd p wih h dd

w pnd wpp

F 10, dsinin f spiss

which incds xqisi c cisin

F $240; www.kpinski.c

location

size

dcor

HigHligHts

details

A boutique hotel in the suburbs or a city-centre newcomer? You decide

c uu

Villa Belle poque Kempinski Nile Hotel

Love indulgent holidays, hate

the resultant weight gain?

Browns Hotel in London (www.

brownshotel.com) has the

solution: tea-tox. Its a healthy

take on their award-winning

traditional aternoon tea, withdelectable options like dark

rye bread with smoked salmon

and low-at crme rache, and

blueberries and low-at lemon

cream served in a sugar-ree

chocolate cup. As i that wasnt

enough to alleviate your guilt,

the in-house tness specialist

has devised bespoke sightseeing

jogging routes, and you can

also request an in-room t kit

complete with workout routines.

Guilt-free getaway

brItISH brollIeSlv h uy gcc

h uu? th

u h b-ub, vb .

uv..uk $75

hy h.

w v h fh h by,

h .

compare and contr ast

Abu Dhabis Yas Hotel (www.theyashotel.

com) opens its new ESPA, eaturing a

contemporary hammam, on September

1 plus turn to p26 or an exclusive peek

inside the incredible Presidential Suite,

also being unveiled this month.


12/76


How important is it to get a

good nights sleep?Its vital: i you dont get seven

to nine hours each night you

will become irritable, anxious

and less in control o your

reactions. Your concentration

will also sufer, which is bad

news on business trips.

So what can we do to make

sure we get our requisite seven

hours in?

Going to bed should have

certain rituals associated with

it, as this will create memory

associations which trigger

the release o sleep-related

hormones. Have a warm bath

or eat a sleep-inducing snack

like walnuts, yoghurt or warm

milk. Avoid cafeine or at least

six hours beore bedtime. While

exercise is very good or giving

you a better nights sleep,make sure you do it at least

three hours beore sleeping.

Set your room temperature

to 18-21C and practise some

simple breathing exercises to

relax yoursel. Dont lie there

watching the clock; just wait

or sleep to come.

Should you really count sheep,

or is that a myth?

Doing anything boring will

help: read a boring book, watch

a boring movie; dont lie in

bed using your phone as this

is associated with work, and

thereore stress. Also, ensure

you have the right pillow or

you, which should be based

on your sleeping position.

www.ichotelsgroup.com

Ging sp in ign h cn

nigh y vn cs y ys. W

qizzd h Innin mdn Hspis sp

xp D tni tyh, wh cnss Cwn

Pz hs, n hw scp h nd Zs.

King o PopDid you know that, shortly beore he died, Michael Jackson lived

in a converted cowshed in rural Ireland with his three children?Nope, us neither, but it turns out the megastar headed or Grouse Lodge, in County Westmeath,

just ater his inamous Bahrain sojourn. The owners managed to keep Jacksons presence secret

or several months, and when word did eventually get out the singer had been spotted in the

nearby village o Moate locals became so protective o him that one armer was even reported

to have threatened to empty slurry over alurking paparazzo.

Jackson ended up staying or the rest o

the year and now you can ollow in his

ootsteps and nd out exactly why he ell in

love with the lush green area. Grouse Lodge

is a Georgian house-turned-residential

recording studio complex and, as well as

the occasional resident celebrity (REM and

Shirley Bassey have also stayed), it ofers a

15m indoor pool, cross-country quad-biking

and archery. I it was good enough or the

King o Pop www.grouselodge.com

i yu v i , h eh yy .h. jy h qu b, u xuv b u h u.

Book it now

K tv h u

u h h h u

b :

th h B&B h

Juh Bh H, dub,

$999

th h B&B

sh-l B a Jhr & s, mu,

$639

sx h B&B sh-

l V r & s,

mv, $2,759

sx h B&B h

Kk H Bh

e, s, $949

To book, call your nearest Kanoo

office see p70 for contact

details. All packages subject

to terms and conditions.

Dream on

Images:iStockphoto;OneandOnlyResorts;Rotana;LeRoyalMerid

ien;TheYasHotel;Villa

Bellepoque;Kempinski;BrownsHotel;www.l

ondonundercover.co.u

k;GrouseLodge.


13/76


agenda|calendar

Septemberth s x vs h hs h.

1-11Venice

international

Film FeStiVal

V, iy

The 67th instalment o

this annual componento the Venice Biennale

will draw the worlds

top critics, screening

approximately 20

international lms.

Some will be judged

in competitions while

others including those

exploring new trends in

cinema are there solely

or your enjoyment.

www.labiennale.org

26magic oF maSala

Juh b a

Shs, Uae

Learning how to cook

is so much better when

youve got a celebrityche showing you the

ropes. From September

23-27, Cyrus Todiwala,

o Londons Ca Spice

Namaste, will be cooking

up a storm or guests,

but on the 26th hell be

showing you how to do

it yoursel. Unmissable.

Email jbasrestaurants@

jumeirah.com to book

your place.

5canmore HigHland

gameS

a, c

Don your tartans or

this Celtic estival:

situated in the stunningmountainous town o

Canmore, just east o

Ban National Park,

it eatures piping and

drumming, highland

dance, sheep dogs and

the caber toss where

strong types toss 80kg

wooden poles around.

Bizarre but impressive.

www.canmorehighland

games.ca

4international

FeStiVal oF KiteS

and air creationS

bs, UK

Unsurprisingly, this is a

celebration o all things

kite-shaped: this year,

serpents, shoals o sh, a

3D monkey and appliqu

specialist Kelvin Woods

celebrity tribute edo kites.

No, were not sure what

that means either, but

you can rest assured that

it will be a spectacularly

colourul (not to mention

jolly) aair.

www.kite-festival.org.uk

5roodHarigen

b, nhs

Ginger and proud? Make

a beeline or the ocial

Coebergh Redhead Day,

which draws an averageo 4,000 strawberry-

locked types each year

with redhead ashion

shows, photo shoots,

picnics, and even lectures

on the background o

red hair. (But i youre in

a mixed-hair couple,

dont worry: all are

welcome. Roodharigen

doesnt discriminate.)

www.roodharigen.nl

22-25monaco YacHt

SHow

p Hus, m

Join Europes super-rich

and check out the latest

innovations in the luxuryboating world, admiring

$1.25bn worth o

superyachts including

40 previously unseen

models while youre

at it. Not only is the

event super-glam, but

its also carbon neutral,

which will go somewhere

towards alleviating long-

haul fight guilt www.

monacoyachtshow.comImage:BristolKit

eFestival2009.

AgendA | trAvel q A


14/76


Q:I would love to do a safari in Africa for

my 50th birthday but, while my family loves

camping, Im not the roughing-it type. Are

there any options that will satisfy both tastes?A:Forget sleeping bags: huge beds, fne linen and en-suite

bathrooms are the order o the day at Ol Seki Mara Camp in

Kenya (www.olseki.com). With six beautiul tents and two

amily suites, Ol Seki provides a traditional saari experience

without orcing you to sacrifce on creature comorts.

Each tent has panoramic views over the Masai Mara Game

Reserve, and while there you can experience bush picnics,

night game drives, hot air ballooning and tribal village visits.

Singitas Sabora Tented Camp (www.singita.com,

pictured), on the plains o the Tanzanian Serengeti, is

another personal avourite o mine or camping in luxury.

Its tents are decorated in 1920s, colonial style, with antique

mahogany travel chests, Persian rugs, our-poster beds and

outdoor showers. Sabora is set in a private 340,000-acre

game reserve bordering the Serengeti National Park and sits

in the path o the great wildebeest migration. Its unenced,

so animals can wander around the camp meaning you can

saari rom your tent! As well as game drives, you can play

tennis, take a dip in the pool and enjoy drives in vintage

cars. The best times to visit are the dry seasons, which run

between July and October and January and February.

Jessica Hudson

Q:Do you have any tips or handling

toddlers during a long-haul fight?

A: The key to easing in-ight boredom is variety. Take a

number o small, individually wrapped gits to whip out

when your toddler starts dgeting consider sticker

books, crayons and colouring pads, an MP3 player

complete with audio books, an Etch A Sketch, and other

small toys avoiding those with tiny pieces or irritating

sound efects. Its also worth including a ew healthy

snacks (raisins, pretzels, bread sticks), as in-ight meals

rarely turn up when you need them. I you dont haveaith in your airlines entertainment system, invest in

a portable DVD player but dont orget plenty o

high-capacity batteries. Also pack headphones that t

comortably on your childs head.

Really, though, the easiest toddler to handle on a

long ight is a sleeping toddler. So, even i youre not

ying overnight, pack your childs avourite cuddly toy

and bedtime story. Changing children into their pyjamas

can also help create a calmer, sleepier environment.

Who knows, you might even be able to catch the end

credits o your avourite movie!

Rachel Hamilton

Q:My love o eco resorts is rivalled only by

my wies passion or hotels that impress

her riends. Where will tick both boxes?

A: I would suggest Venezuela: its blessed with diverse

landscapes, including Caribbean coastline, Amazonian

rainorest, the northern peaks o the Andes, and the

dramatic Angel Falls the worlds highest at 979m.

Venezuela has an excellent network o eco lodges

rom which to admire these stunning natural wonders.

The Coral Lagoon Lodge, near Ocumare de la Costa

(around 100km west o Caracas), is located right onthe coast and only accessible by sea, making it a

wonderully secluded place to unwind and has solid

eco credentials: its partly powered by solar energy,

the ches use locally sourced ood and the resh water

supply comes rom collected rainall. You can dive and

snorkel in sparkling blue waters by day, then relax in a

hammock in the evenings as your wie decides which o

the days photos will make her riends green with envy.

Tim Woods

Got a question or our panel? Email

[email protected].

AgendA| trAvel q&A

Posh saai campi, i-h-kow co sos a

fyi wih kis? no pobm, say ou paiss.

Ask h xp

Tim Woods, the

go-to man for allthings green, is

an international

project leader for

the British Trust

for Conservation

Volunteers.

Rachel

hamilTon is a

full-time writer

and the mother

of two young

children whom

she travels

frequently with.

Jessica

hudsonco-

founded The Chic

Collections travel

advisory, and is

tasked with

sampling endless

luxury hotels...

The panel

Image:SingitaSaboraTentedCamp.


15/76


16/76


17/76


18/76

uluru

Youll probably recognise this ater all, its one o

Australias most amous landmarks but its ocial namemay come as a surprise i you know it as Ayers Rock.

The sandstone ormation, which rises like a ame-licked

phoenix rom the at land surrounding it, has been

ocially known as Uluru, its Aboriginal moniker, since

2002. Explore its periphery and youll fnd springs, caves

and ancient paintings, all o which add to the deep sense

o mystery at what is one o the oldest rocks on Earth.

Image: Photolibrary

Picture this

central australia


19/76


20/76


21/76

rock islands

Palau may be an insanely peaceul spot now but the

broccoli-like islands havent always been so still: they

originally existed as coral ormations, until violent

tremors shook them above the surace o the Pacifc

Ocean several millennia ago. A particularly spectacular

eature o modern-day Palau is to be ound at JellyfshLake, on Eil Malk island. Its millions o golden-bodied

inhabitants are stingless and spend their days oating

through the water in ghoulish horizontal swathes. Join

them or a once-in-a-lietime snorkelling experience.

Image: Photolibrary

Picture this

palau, micronesia


22/76

EssEntial sElEction | amazing stays



23/76

August 2010 K W T 21

The Monarch Dubai: Floors 32 & 33

The USP: The Monarch Suite has its own

10-seater cinema as well as a swimming pool

which extends rom an indoor stretch out to

the private terrace which, incidentally, oers

spectacular views o the Dubai skyline.

The damage: From $11,430 per night.

www.themonarchdubai.com


Fr r ur-per r

p ur bh, hee beuu pe w ke

ur ex weeked w fe re pe.

Wrd b Ele Cooper.

essenTial selecTion

EssEntial sElEction |amazing stays


24/76

22 K W T August 2010

six senses hiDeaway Zighy bay: PrivaTe reserve

The USP: Comprising three villas, the complex has a 14m innity

pool overlooking the Gul o Oman as well as an exquisite copper

bathtub, private quarters or your security sta and a live-in che.


www.sixsenses.com

aTlanTis The PalM: room 2464

The USP: The Poseidon Suites foor-to-ceiling window walls look

straight onto the Ambassador Lagoon, a huge aquarium housing

eels, stingrays and sharks exceptionally relaxing (and very cool).The damage: From $8,000 per night.

www.atlantisthepalm.com

arMani hoTel Dubai: room 812

The USP: The only hotel in the worlds tallest building had to oer

something more than simple luxury so they got Giorgio Armani

to personally design it. The Armani Suites minimalist look perectly

complements the magnicent Dubai Fountain, which it overlooks.The damage: From $1,360 per night.

www.dubai.armanihotels.com

22 K W T September 2010

m expeve

m exuve

Clockwise from left: Armani Suite; Zighy

Bay; Atlantis The Palm; Burj Al Arab.




25/76


burj al arab:room 2501

The USP: Book the Royal Suite in Dubais most amous

landmark and youll have a rotating our-poster bed as well as

a marble-and-gold staircase, complimentary access to Wild

Wadi and Assawan Spa, private library, cinema and elevator.The damage: From $12,400 per night.

www.jumeirah.com




26/76

24 K W T August 2010

riTZ-carlTon bahrain:villa 20

The USP: Surrounded by grass and with direct beach access,

this three-bedroom Manama hideaway has its own shaded

innity pool overlooking the azure waters o the Gul o

Bahrain and a private butler attending to your every need.The damage: From $3,130 per night.

www.ritzcarlton.com





27/76


al Maha:PresidenTial suiTe

The USP: Its total privacy the Presidential Suite is over hal

a kilometre rom the rest o the already-exclusive resort is

likely to have something to do with the act that it was the

avoured retreat o the late Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid

Al Maktoum. The spectacular villa sits atop a sand dune

overlooking a pristine wildlie reserve in the heart o the

Arabian Desert.


www.emirateshotelsresorts.com




28/76

26 K W T August 201026 K W T September 2010

The yas hoTel:Yas PresidenTial suiTe

The USP: At 2,531 sq m and with a whopping 28 bedrooms,

this is the Guls largest and newest suite (it opens this month)

book it and youll be able to watch top-level motor-racing

rom the privacy o your own room, as the windows look rightonto Yas Marina Circuit.


www.theyashotel.com





29/76


w Doha: room 1501

The USP: Where else could you watch a movie on an Aquavision

TV rom a hexagonal bathtub beore going to bed, sae in the

knowledge that youre being watched over by a lie-sized model

o a horse?


www.whoteldoha.com

al Faisaliah: room 716

The USP: Al Faisaliahs Royal Suite has an opulent sunken

Jacuzzi, steam showers, dramatic views over Riyadh and

a dedicated butlers pantry perect or midnight easts.


www.alfaisaliahhotel.com

KeMPinsKi Mall oF The eMiraTes: room 216

The USP: The Grand Ski Chalet may have been around or a ew

years but its still impossible not to get a certain childish thrill at

staying in a desert-based hotel room which oers ski slope views.The damage: From $6,000 per night.

www.kempinski.com

m eer

m ve

Clockwise from left: Yas Hotel; W Doha;

Al Faisaliah; Kempinski Mall of the Emirates.



30/76


Tropic oconversation

Bendy palms, white sand, clear water Barbados isa tetbook Caribbean paradise, but the real talking

points are the people. Nick Redman gets chatting.

xxxxxx | xxxxxxxxx


31/76


You happen abruptly upon Fisher Pond,

in the green heart o St Thomas parish:

a blur o cottages on the drive rom the

coast, pink vil lages, a bumpy track. Then

the Great House, a weathered plantation property,

materialises among the cane felds. Its a slab o

sepia-tinted Caribbean, stately-home-amiliar

to the British, yet eotic against branches o red

Arican tulips.

Shutters are open to the Barbados January sun, a piano-

plink comes rom within, and white-bearded owner

John Chandler shows you to one o a dozen garden

tables, covered in psychedelic bougainvillea, busy with

chattering guests. A woman gets a tablecloth caught

to her as she rises. Is she about to perorm some El

Stupendo whip-it-away magic act? It wouldnt surprise

me; camp is too tame a term or this place. There are

pink parasols in the drinks that Johns wie, Rain, isdispensing. Tablecloths are resplendent with Swiss-

cheese-plant motis. Betty, eightysomething, is on the

baby grand, playing beside a superb-looking home-

cooked buet. She launches into La Vie en Rose, and I

glance at my partner. What have we let ourselves in or?

Graham Nortons 50th? Carry on up the Caribbean?

Were light years rom the demure Barbados o

brochure clichs. A macaw screeches, putting me in mind

o Maria Callas. (Not so much the vocal impression; justthat I read somewhere about the opera singer holidaying

on the island with her pet marmoset.) Jewel-coloured

glasses are lled, the lunch grows longer, drowsier, and

Fisher Pond Great House blooms into Barbados past, like

a lost Noel Coward play. The cooking is all done by Rain

and what cooking. Based on classic recipes rom across

the West Indies, theres curried green banana rom

St Lucia; rom Martinique, a caramelly an made with

condensed milk, leaving room (just) or the guava bread

pudding, an old Bajan recipe. We ll our bellies, indulging

in the classic Barbados holiday pursuit: people-watching.

The older lady, two to your let, I say quietly, pointing

with my eyes. Wallis Simpson?

Denitely more Marge Simpson.

Both o us are loving Barbados. For the sun and the

sands and the sheer unadulterated indolence, sure, but

more than anything or the characters. Sit around or a

while and tune in it s like a soap opera but, tragically,

not weekly. John Chandler has the most intoxicating lilt

to his voice, somewhere between Bob Marley and Pam

Ayres. I could listen to the Bajan accent all day.

Were almost too heavy to stand by the time John

oers us a whizz around his antiques, including a pair o

18th-century hurricane lantern shades owned by Anthony

Eden, Britains ormer prime minister. Theyd look lovely

in our apartment but are too big to smuggle out subtly.

Johns amily arrived rom Scotland to grow tobacco in1638. He used to run a hotel where Princess Margaret

lodged (She stayed up too late). Once at Fisher Pond

he scolded Prince Harry or smoking. And hes sorry he

lost Helen Mirrens number when she visited: I wanted to

invite her to stay. I youre reading this, Helen

Home or us is Coral Ree Club. It s set on the same

stretch o coast as the Sandy Lane hotel, yet its the

antithesis o that gigantic glitz-est amily-run, riendly,

a love story. Budge OHara came to manage the place inthe 50s, bringing his wie, Cynthia their honeymoon

was the rocky cargo-ship passage over. Budge passed

away in the 90s, but silver-haired Cynthia, with her two

sons and their wives, still presides, like an elegant British

orerunner to Miss Ellie in Dallas.

This clutch o coral-stone cottages and suites is

another Caribbean classic, the kind you daydream about

at your desk: mental blotting paper. Chunky novels


32/76


rest unopened on thighs, owners gazing mindlessly out

to sea. At breakast, pairs o chairs are scraped back

simultaneously as Mr and Mrs leave or a day o nothing-

muchness around their plunge pool.

Birds staccato-hop or crumbs so many, its as i

Alred Hitchcock is still directing rom on high, and so

pushy. Theyll be cadging my Marlboros next. Now all

heads swivel at a sudden commotion: Joan. Joan. JOAN.

An American has given up trying to signal discreetly to

a stick-like septuagenarian, picking her way along the

beach with the head-nodding concentration o a stork.

Joan, Im not surprised to observe when her breakast

arrives, barely pecks at her mufn, so shell be an even

bigger hit with the nches.Next day, we motor north along the platinum west

coast, past coves o sand so ne you could sieve it

onto a donut. Gingerbread homes it by, and theatrical

mansions lurk like stars in shades behind curly gates.

We turn inland at Speightstown and the sea now glints

in the rear-view mirror, disappearing as horizons o sugar

cane hog the rame. In Barbados, it somehow doesnt

eel as i weve own across the Atlantic its more as i

weve taken an exotic exit o an English motorway andour cottage is somewhere beyond the inty manor house

thats materialising ahead, among a shock o palms.

In the verdant wilds o St Philip Parish, towards the

Atlantic Coast, theres a sign to Sunbury Plantation

House. Its a proper Scarlett OHara set, guarded by a

Gingerbread homesfit by, and theatrical

mansions lurk likestars in shadesbehind curly gates

xxxxxx | xxxxxxxxx


33/76


bearded g tree, and i it werent or the occasional Please do not

sit signs youd think the place was still lived in. Built by an Irish/

English planter in 1660, its a splendid window on bygone Barbados,stued with spooky, lieless-eyed dolls in the childrens room, a

wince-inducing ladies manicure set and old photos on the walls. But

again, its the people that make the moment: Is that snow? asks

a lady out loud, studying the white drive in a monochrome 1905

picture. No, I eel qualied to answer.

Between reading tabloid interviews with Tina Turner and Paul

Daniels at Coral Ree Club, my partner is now ofcially addicted to

people-watching. Theres the blonde X-ray in Lycra pants, endlessly

heading o on manic runs, as i shes always let the iron on. Thereare well-kept men who clearly work out between the boardroom

sessions back home, only a crpe-like midri leatheriness betraying

their middle age. And there was some ne resort dancing last night,

to band covers o Joni Mitchell and Frank Sinatra. Girls twirled and we

guys let what was let o our hair down.

One evening, we heard that Naomi Campbell and David Walliams

had recently been spotted in ashionable restaurant Daphnes.

Out we went, under a torch-beam moon. Fashionable? Yes, in a

Previous page: Bottom Bay. Opposite from left: Luxury Plantation Suite at Coral

Reef Club; Luxury Cottage at same hotel. This page, clockwise from top left (all

Coral Reef Club): Warleigh terrace; Breakfast by the beach; Seared pepper-

crusted tuna; Stoking the barbecue.

w w w . s k y l i n e u n i v e r s i t y . c o m


34/76

Centre for Professional Development and Training

Tel : +971 6 544 1155 I Fax: +971 6 544 1166 I [email protected] I www.skylineuniversity.com

Join the worlds fastest growing industry

TRAVEL & TOURISMTRAVEL & TOURISM

MBA

with emphasis on:

IATA UFTAA/FIATA

1. Foundation diploma in Travel & Tourism

CONFEDERATION OF TOURISM & HOSPITALITY (CTH) - UK

2. Diploma in Travel & Tourism Operations

OTHER COURSES

tion

with Sharjah Commerce & Tourism Development

Ireland

REGISTER BEFORE 28 OCT 2010For early bird fee waiver onIATA-Foundation Diploma

Also avail package discounts on courses

Accredited by:C O NF E DE R AT IO N O F T O U R IS M & H O S PIT A L IT Y

* Safe and furnished hostel facilities (separate for boys and girls) * Visa Assistance

* Excellent industry linkage with 99% placement rate * Morning and evening classes

* Expert faculty with doctoral qualifications * Affordable cost of programs

BBAwith majors in:

SKY

LINEUNI

VERSITYCO

LLEG

E

Yea

rso

fAcademic

Exce

l len

ce

American Curriculum Approved & Accredited By The Ministry Of Higher Education & Scientific Research, U.A.E.

Member - AACSB International, USA

New Batches:- BBA & MBA: September 2010, January 2011

xxxxxx | xxxxxxxxx


35/76


darkwood way. Celebrities? No just a berk in a short-sleeved

Burberry shirt, orcing the sta to sell a double espresso or the price

o a single. You know, and I know, he hissed, its just a little more hot

water. The discreet charm o the bourgeoisie

Next morning, the sky, ominous beore a shower an hour ago, was

now bright blue, with canyons o puy white clouds. The sea was

spearmint-clear. Barbados-beyond beckoned. We took o with a

small group led by the chuckly Duane. He was quite a character, even

i his microphone was turned up too loud, causing all in the vehicle

to jump each time he cleared his throat to point out an unusual sight.

But inland, Barbados unravelled beautiully untouristy, untouched

passing down avenues o palms and tunnels o overhanging

mahogany, black-belly sheep grazing the waysides.

Animal Flower Cave, on the northern tip, was a shivery moment:

a staired descent to a mysterious, drip-drip, coral-limestone hollow,

where anemones pulsed in rock pools. A huge scallop shell in the

ceiling, embedded, then exposed by time, looked just like a hand with

gnawed nails. Through a gaping aperture crashed the mad Atlantic,

which brought us neatly on to Billy Ocean, the singer. He flmed a

video here in the 80s, Duane explained, almost wistully, I thought.

As we chugged over Cherry Tree Hill, the island ell away

dramatically to the east, down to the Atlantic Coast at Bathsheba,

each headland nudging urther out, ading into mists. The longing or

what was never home: Im not sure why it exists, but I know that it

does. I elt it mysel as the day closed and Duane dropped me o at

the prettily lit Coral Ree Club, or some people-watching rom a sot

soa, over a big cold drink.

Where to stay

Coral Ree Club (www.

coralreearbados.com) has

rooms rom $420 B&B. On

the Atlantic coast at Tent Bay,

near Bathsheba, The Atlantis

(www.atlantishotelbarbados.

com) reopened this year ater an

extensive reurb; rooms rom $255

B&B. Or try Sea-U Guest House(www.seaubarbados.com; rom

$129 B&B), an inormal, cosy little

east-coast retreat.

Where to eat

Fisher Pond Great House (www.

chandelierweddingsbarbados.net)

has a Caribbean bufet Sunday

lunch (served rom 1pm) or $50pp.

Daphnes (www.daphnesbarbados.

com) has mains or around $40.

Sightseeing

Sunbury Plantation House (www.barbadosgreathouse.com), St

Philip; 9.30am-5pm. Animal

Flower Cave, St Lucy; 9am-5pm.

The brief

Clockwise from top left: Room at the refurbed Atlantis; St James beach; Daphnes

the place to see and be seen; Plumeria thrives in Barbados tropical climate.Images:Photolib

rary,SmallLuxuryHotelsoftheWorld,

iStockphoto,EssentialDetails,E

legantHotels.


36/76


37/76

TM

l l


38/76

A car like nothing else.Available nowhere else.

Begin your journey in a whole new class. Hertz is proud to be the only rental company that features the

Mercedes C Series, GLK350, and the 2010 Motor TrendCar of the Year contender, E Class. Every Prestige

Collection car comes with NeverLost, our in-car satellite navigation system, plus SIRIUS XM Radio. And

with Hertz, the car you reserve is the one you get. For reservations, contact your travel agent or the Hertz

Prestige Collection at 1-800-654-2250,or visit hertz.com. Theres over 300 million journeys out there.

One of them is yours.

.cnI,metsySztreH0102.ffO.taP.S.U.geRhertz.com

Prestige Collection vehicles available at major market locations in the U.S. and Canada. All vehicles may not be available at all locations. Hertz rental age, driver

of SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. and its subsidiaries; all rights reserved.

total guide | uSa Road tRip

TOTAL GUIDE


39/76


uSa Road tRipSH trmc, c brz, n 50 ss s: fy wn r amrc, br mrn

P38 THE WHEEL THING Drive yoursel to distraction on Americas most

scenic journeys. From Fith Avenue to Route 66, theres a road or every

kind o rider. P44 INTO THE WILD The crowds in Yellowstone National

Park? Sure, they can be a bit grizzly but arrive in an RV and youll bear-ly

see another tourist. P48 BEDS AND BURGERS Find your perect pit stop

or an all-American highway adventure: roadside diners, time-warped

motels and kitsch crash pads. P52 LOST IN TRANSMISSION On a driving

tour o La-La Land, truth and hype collide. See Bel Air, Hollywood, Beverly

Hills and enough silicone to fll the valley. P56 KEEP ROLLING Seen the

movie? Now live the dream Retrace the routes in these cult classics and

youre guaranteed a good time.

TOTAL GUIDE

Your total guide to USA

road trips, in association with


40/76

38 Kanoo World Traeller September 2010

th wh hnFrm R 66 h R grn, h rs amrcn rvs

sr hr. Bck n h h r. By Stanley Stewart.

A week: TOWARDS THE RIO GRANDE

This road trip takes you across Texas to Big

Bend National Park, and one o the Wests

best-kept secrets. Only an hour or so out o

New Orleans and youre in Louisiana back

country, which is still inhabited by French-

speaking Cajuns (stop here or zydeco music

and juicy crawsh). Sign up or one o the

swamp tours in Henderson to go head to head

with gators. Then head west to Texas, bypass

Houston, and spend a night in music-centric

Austin, where you might catch tomorrows

rock stars playing or tips. Head west again

into the Hill Country, jink south to San Antonio

and the Alamo, then take Highway 90 through

long stretches o Big Sky country to Big Bend.

In the small towns theres a real old-west eel;

in the parks (www.nps.gov/bibe) theres hiking,

rating, and glider rides. Dont miss Highway

70, which climbs spectacular desert buttes, or

views o the Rio Grande.

One dAy: cAPE cOD

Start in Plymouth, checking out the Pilgrim

Fathers rst settlement, beore crossing the

bridge into the Moby Dick world o Cape

Cod. Forego the big mid-Cape Highway or

the coastal road 6A, which winds along an

old Indian trail. Detour to Hyannis (summer

home o the Kennedys) to visit the JFK

Museum and pay homage at the statue o the

Wampanoag Indian chietain who sold Cape

Cod or $30 and two pairs o trousers. Finish in

Provincetown, where the Pilgrim Fathers rst

stepped ashore in 1620.

FOur dAys: BLUES HIGHWAy

To discover Americas musical taproot, head

to the Mississippi Delta. The blues was born

along its back roads, and all the great artists

Howlin Wol, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker

came rom the Delta, an area smaller than




41/76

September 2010 Kanoo World Traeller 39

Wales. Highway 61 is the key route but detour

down Highways 49 and 1: youll see towns

like Indianola, where BB King used to play

on street corners (he returns every year or a

homecoming concert), and Greenville, which

hosts the Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage

Festival every September. Clarksdale, where

Muddy Waters caught the train to Chicago, is

Blues Central. Dont miss Morgan Freemans

Ground Zero, a great blues lounge there. The

route ends in Memphis, home to the man who

took the blues to the world.

TwO dAys: BLUE RIDGE PARKWAy

Known as Americas Favourite Drive, the Blue

Ridge Parkway sweeps along the crest o the

Appalachians, rom Virginia to Tennessees

Great Smokies. The Parkway is that rare thing

in America a pristine road. No billboards, nomotels, no gas stations; just lay-bys, a ew

visitor centres and uninterrupted views o

orest-clad mountains. For some Appalachian

culture, and to hear bluegrass music, take

the side roads into local towns Asheville is

home to the annual Mountain Dance and Folk

Festival (www.olkheritage.org).

One hOur in A TAxi, depending

On TrAFFic: fIfTH AvENUE

Running down the centre o Manhattan, Fith

Avenue revels in its reputation as the most

expensive street in the world. But a cruise

along it is a journey through the many aces

o New York. Hop in a cab at its northern end

on the Harlem River and head south, passing

venues where the great jazzmen discovered

be-bop. O to the let, between 115th St and

111th St, is Spanish Harlem, where samba rules.

With a sudden shit o gear, youre cruising

past Central Park, on a stretch once known asMillionaires Row. From 105th St to 82nd St,

its Museum Mile; next up is Midtown, with the

Rockeeller Centre, the Empire State and the

Flatiron building. Dangerously upmarket stores

begin to loom Bergdor Goodman, Tiany

& Co but your nal destination is Second

Ave Deli (156 Second Ave), one o New Yorks

greatest oodie joints.

in h knw

Clockwise from far left: Believe it or not, it can be hardcatching a cab on Fifth Avenue; Altogether quieter scene

in Provincetown, Cape Cod; The open road in Big Bend

National Park; Blue Ridge Highway is stunning in autumn.

Its easy to rent a car in America specialists

such as Hertz (www.hertz.com) are dotted

throughout the country. Or consider a drive-

away car an agency enlists you to deliver a

clients vehicle to a specifc destination and you

just pay the gas (see www.autodriveaway.

com). And why not save money by checking

www.gasbuddy.com? It lists gas stations

selling the cheapest petrol rom state to state.




42/76


Five hOurs: LA TO LAS vEGAS

The worst way to land in this city is o a trans-

continental ight; Vegas can be just too bizarre

or people suering rom jet lag. Instead,

arrive by road at night. Have a late lunch on

Venice Beach in LA and then head out; there

are some ne mountains to cross during the

aternoon, as well as vast stretches o desert.

Watch the sun set on a horizon at as a ruled

line, then drive on, through a chiaroscuro world

o headlights and undiluted night. The white

lines begin to hypnotise; the landscape is a

dark nothing beneath a vault o stars. And

then, suddenly, as you crest a desert ridge,

Vegas appears, a spectacular blaze o light, a

surreal apparition, oating in the desert like an

alien space station. The last stage o the drive

is the cruise up The Strip past the Eiel Tower,

the Venetian gondolas, the Pyramids and the

Roman palaces. Welcome to Vegas.

As you crest a ridge,

Vegas appears, a

surreal apparition


total guide | uSa Road tRiptotal guide | uSa Road tRip

TwO weeks: ROUTE 66

Route 66 aint what it used to be. The

Interstates have robbed it o its trafc and its

Missouri, and runs across the Texas Panhandle

beore heading west through New Mexico,

Arizona and Caliornia to LA The kitsch and

The kitsch and the

weird loom large on


43/76

September 2010 Kanoo World Traeller 41xxxxx 2010 KANOO WORLD TRAvELLER 41

Interstates have robbed it o its trafc and its

importance, and the old highway has been

replaced and diverted in many places. But you

can still ollow it, and along the way nd thetwo-lane dream on which America was born.

Route 66 has always been an integral part o

the countrys great western migration. The

Okies took to the road to escape dust-bowl

depression; soda-ountain girls ollowed it to

Hollywood and Chuck Berry made it amous. It

starts in Chicago, drops down into Illinois and

Arizona and Caliornia to LA. The kitsch and

the weird loom large on Route 66, rom the

Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, where 10 cars

have been planted hood rst in the ground, tothe quirky Baghdad Ca, where the 1988 lm

o the same name was shot. The best stretch is

in Arizona, where 600km o the old blacktop

runs through timeless towns like Kingman,

Oatman and Winslow with their ageing motels

and classic diners. Check out www.national66.

com and www.historic66.com.

weird loom large on

Route 66


A week: PAcIfIc cOAST HIGHWAy

This iconic road trip links the cheesy glamour

o LA with the unky bohemia o San Francisco

territory. Another hour and youll be back on

the coast at Pismo, where surers ride big

waves and Baywatch extras play volleyball

where rivers pool in sunstruck swimming

holes. Next its all windows open or a leisurely

cruise through Monterey Peninsula Carmel is


44/76

42 Kanoo World Traeller September 201042 Kanoo World Traeller September 2010

o LA with the unky bohemia o San Francisco.

Unravelling along the ocean in a series o West

Coast clichs surers beaches, orange groves

and giant redwoods this highway makesCaliornia Dreamin a reality. Ater a ew days

taking in the insanity o LA, pop in the Beach

Boys and motor out past beach houses, palm

trees and the big Pacic sur: Santa Barbara

is just a couple o sunny hours away. The next

day, cross the Santa Ynez Mountains into

big-sky, ranch country. An hour later, youre

in Steinbecks Caliornia: vegetable and ruit

waves and Baywatch extras play volleyball

on an endless beach. Just past San Simeon,

stop to see Hearst Castle, the ormer home

o William Randolph Hearst, immortalisedby Orson Welles as Citizen Kane. Youre

now entering Big Sur, 145km o spectacular

coastline. From the viewpoints, spot blue and

humpback whales in the summer, or grey

whales during the winter. When the orests

push down to the coast, get out o the car and

take a hike in Peier Big Sur State Park (www.

parks.ca.gov), deep among the redwoods,

cruise through Monterey Peninsula. Carmel is

now as amous or electing Clint Eastwood as

mayor as it is or its boutiques, galleries and

twee teashops. For contrast, spend the night inSanta Cruz, a wonderul mix o surers, skaters,

yuppies and ageing hippies. Cross the Santa

Cruz Mountains to Interstate 280, which whisks

you into San Francisco. Highway 84 is a great

end to a great drive but once youre in town,

ditch the car: San Fran is a lety, eco-conscious

sort o place, so keep quiet about the road trip

and the gas-guzzling convertible.



FOur dAys: THE fOUR cORNERS

Stunning desert and canyon landscapes

combined with a rich Navajo culture make the

where the stagecoach ran into trouble in

Stagecoach, where Wyatt Earp drove his cattle

on the way to his gunght at the OK Corral and

Long, straight roads

make this archetypal


45/76

September 2010 Kanoo World Traeller 43September 2010 Kanoo World Traeller 43

t j t t

Four Corners where Arizona, Utah, Colorado

and New Mexico meet one o Americas

most ascinating junctions. This is archetypal

drive country: long straight roads sweeping

through jaw-dropping scenery. Start at the

Grand Canyon, north side, then head south

on Highway 89 and east on 160 to Monument

Valley where the West was born (thanks to

John Ford westerns). The stark sandstone

buttes and strange pinnacles o rock rising

rom a bleak red desert are as amiliar to

movie-goers as the Hollywood sign. This is

t y t g g t t t

where that irritating bird escapes his deserved

demise in Roadrunnercartoons. Beyond the

Valley, a looping clockwise itinerary dips into

Colorado, turning into Utah beore returning

to Arizona and the Grand Canyon. En route, it

takes in some o the regions most ascinating

landmarks: the haunting Mesa Verde plateau,

with the ruins o ancient Indian settlements,

and the Canyon de Chelly, sacred to the

Navajo. This is RV land, the ideal place to carry

it all on your back with a motorhome and to

park up at night under a wilderness o stars.

make this archetypal

drive country


i h


46/76


in h wth bs r rs nvv n f h cr. Brian

Schofeld s cs ssby cs nr n

Ywsn Nn prk.

Its cheaper than reconstructive surgery,

leered the elderly shop owner, placing

$30-worth o highly pressurised cayenne

pepper on the counter with the condenceo a man whose sales pitch hadnt ailed

him in years. A blood-spattered ace stared

doleully out rom the side o the canister

Designed by a genuine bear-attack survivor!

Efective at 10m! I thought o my mother at

my graveside and opened my wallet, then

drove on through the thickening woods to

the entry gates. A can o bear spray on the

way into Yellowstone Park it might be the

best $30 youll ever spend or it might be

the last.

But I was determined this road trip through

grizzly country was not going to be a car-

window adventure. I wanted to drive, sure,

but then I wanted to park my RV and get out

there. Thats the real joy o a road trip, ater

all: opening the door to a new destination

every time you turn o the engine. And i Im

honest, I was pretty sae.

Greater Yellowstone a towering patch o

mountains, orests and sulphurous volcanic

activity in the northwestern hinterland o the

USA, with the worlds oldest national park

at its heart has witnessed only nine atal

bear attacks in the past 100 years, and themajority o those lost souls had made quite

considerable strides towards deserving their

ates. In 1907, a tourist to the park chased two

bear cubs up a tree and proceeded to stand

poking them with his umbrella until mummy

bear arrived on his blind side and taught him

a lesson his terried, watching companions

never orgot.

On two other poetically just occasions,

poachers have trapped grizzlies in grotesque

steel oot-clamps and approached them,

skinning knie poised, only to discoverthat there is something more deadly than

a wounded tiger. One amateur wildlie

photographer decided that, to get the perect

shot, he needed to get within ve metres o a

bear, a distance an adult grizzly can travel in

less than hal a second. And, most amously,

in 1972 a young backpacker let ood and

unwashed dishes lying around his camp

site, and atally attracted a hungry beast.

His parents sued the park or not making it

crystal clear that bear country might possibly

be a dangerous place in which to slob out.

Thus statistically emboldened, I drove

into Yellowstones timber and meadowland

interior with a light heart, only or spirits to

plummet with the realisation that the most

likely eplanation or the parks relative saety

is that bears dont like trafc. The greatest

peril ahead seemed certain to be a Chevy van

veering unpredictably into my path in pursuit

o the perect view o a amily o elk.

Yellowstone, you see, holds a special place

in both American and worldwide hearts, as its

unique ora and auna inspired the very idea

o preserving wild places as national parks,

and it thus attracts three million visitors ayear. As the overwhelming majority bring a

car along or the ride, theres a considerable

risk o the landscape being loved to death.

Commuter rush hours are established by the

timetables or likely geyser eruptions, as the

massed ranks hurry or the best vista, while

roadside animal encounters, o which there

are many, produce chaotic temporary



The bear silently hung



47/76


The bear silently hung

a left, moved on over

the river and followed

his nose west




48/76


car parks o zoom-lens-wielding naturalists,

crowding or the perect image o a bison

scratching its bottom on a tree stump. And,

all the time, the park rangers in their Hanna-

Barbera hats patiently spend their days

pointing out that: Maam, thats a 900-kilo

wild animal youre standing a metre away

rom/trying to pet/placing your child on top

o. Please reconsider.

Thankully, this maelstrom is easily

escaped. Three strategies, one soon learns,

reveal the best o Yellowstone and shield

you rom the worst. The rst is to avoid the

perilously epensive park hotels and plump

or the campsites, where rom your RV or tent

you can enjoy hal-whispered conversations

with equally peace-seeking neighbours, and

wander down to rivers and lakesides or quiet

communion with the y-shermen, elk and

moose that populate the shorelines.

Second, dusk and dawn must be enjoyed

to the ull: thats when the animals are at their

most active, and when youll be sharing the

road with the serious nature lovers, wielding

interstellar binoculars in the hunt or the

rarer sights on the Yellowstone spotters list doughty long-horn sheep, beavers, otters

and, most elusive o all, wolves. One twilight, I

tracked a pair o wolves who were ominously,

relentlessly shadowing a amily o elk across

the open ood plain o the Yellowstone

River. The end o the epic was out o sight

but inevitable a avoured lupine tactic is to

slowly, methodically walk their prey to death.

Third, and most important, park, backpack

up and do some hiking. Even hal a kilometre

rom the road, the crowds all but disappear

and Yellowstone recovers its magic. I had set

my heart on seeing the Pelican Creek Valley,

a wide treeless basin away rom any human

presence, with thick orest on three sides and

jagged mountains on the ourth so I did

what any keen hiker must do and consulted

the ranger station.

Yip, thats grizzly country in there, and its

pretty active. I you stay on the low ground,

you should be OK. Theyre in the trees on

the high slopes right now, eating the pine

cones thats how ravenous they are. Got

spray? Good. And make a lot o noise! Hiking

in Yellowstone is not a peaceul activity. A

surprised bear is a moody one, so I set o

over the low ridge into Pelican Creek val-

deri-ing and val-dera-ing or all I was worth,

slapping my walking stick on every log on

the path while trying not to slip into a jaunty

whistle (which apparently makes you sound

too much like prey).

Ater a cacophonous kilometre, the orest

cleared to reveal Pelican Creek, aimlessly

winding its way through the tan grass o the

perect widescreen valley oor, with those

o-limits high orests rolling away to a clear

horizon, and the alpine peaks to the east

wearing the rst snowall o autumn. The

scene was perected with my own personal

herd o bison, a caravan o dust, hair and

haunch strolling along the riverbank. I

climbed a rise and ound a smaller clan a ew

metres rom the path, grazing noiselessly.

Its easy to see why so many visitors to

Yellowstone cannot compute that bison mightbe dangerous they have the physiques

o comic-book superheroes, with their vast

shoulders tapering to a cluster o dainty,

tottering eet. The leader o this amily let

me under no illusions, though, delivering a

snort and a toss o his horns that I interpreted,

Dolittle-style, to mean: Im as dumb as a

heier, as mean as a wasp and as ast as a

steeplechaser, and youre standing too close.

Ater a wide diversion, the river was reached

and lunch was served, with the additional

thrill o watching a rogue male bison and the

caravans leader brutally clashing horns in the

ar distance.

The problem with binoculars, though,

is that they distract rom the unmagnied

world around you. The bear was no more

than 35m away when I shot to my eet with

a urry, hand wobbling over the bear spray

like a novice gunghter. Jet black, but with

the distinctive hunchback o a grizzly, it was

strolling towards the river, nose down or

dinner. My stumbling signalled that there was

company, he looked up, and our gazes met.

For an unorgettable instant, I stared into

those eyes, two unathomable, pristine black

pools, awash with well, with complete and

utter indierence. With boredom, in act, at

yet another scrawny, meat-ree hiker making

a racket and scaring away the real ood. The

bear silently hung a let, moved on over the

river and ollowed his nose west, never giving

me another thought. I watched or hal an

hour as he patrolled the valley oor, then he

disappeared into the orest.

At that point it started to snow, a thick,

spinning blizzard that settled rst on the

bisons backs, then on the pine branches

and, nally, into a perectly pressed sheet

lying across the valley oor, only the steam

rom the hot springs breaking through the

whiteness. Beore they named it Yellowstone

National Park, it was known as Wonderland.

th brf

Previous page: You wont be the only one wandering

around Yellowstone National Park. Opposite, clockwise

from top left: Bison drink at river edge; Lower Yellowstone

Falls; Grizzly bear; Hot springs; Rainbow at Yellowstone;An elk stalks through the park; G eyser quietly simmering.

Getting there

The closest airport is Jackson Hole, 90km away.

Where to stay

The Grand Teton Lodge Company (www.gtlc.

com) has our lodges in and around Jackson

Hole, starting rom $224 per night. Try

Xanterra (www.travelyellowstone.com) or

accommodation within the park including

campsites (rom $15 per night).

Getting around

Cruise America (www.cruiseamerica.com) has

RVs or hire rom $1,450 per week inclusive,

rom Jackson Hole. For park inormation, see

www.nps.gov/yell. Entry costs $25 or a private

vehicle and $12 on oot.


49/76


50/76


Bs n brrsIs n r ri wih cssic inrs n crzyms in r h bs n h bck.

The Shady dell

BisBee, ArizonA

Just a hal-hour trundle rom the Mexican

border is Shady Dell a perect introduction

to the weird world o the American trailer

park. There are plenty o grassy plots, o

course, just crying out or dusty RVs. But why

take your own when you can pick rom the

collection o shiny silver Airstreams glinting

in the sunshine? (Theyre the still-uturistic-

looking, spaceship-shaped motorhomes rst

built in the 50s.) Or you might preer the

sky-blue-and-white Tiki bus, or the 12m yacht.

All with absolutely no mod cons expect

black-and-white TVs, cassette players, and

blonde-wood interiors. Dinner (and breakast

and lunch) is at Dots Diner housed in a 1957

railroad car. There are just 10 stools squeezed

around the gleaming aluminium counter, so

rise or breakast early. From $55 or a small

towing caravan to $80 or an Airstream.Shady Dell RV Park, 1 Old Douglas Road,

Bisbee, Arizona (www.theshadydell.com).

66 diner

AlBuquerque, new Mexico

Not many roads have had a TV series named

ater them. But then Route 66 is not just any

old road. Built in 1937, the road eventually

joined up to stretch rom Chicago to Santa

Monica, and beore the 60s series Route 66

was aired it had already seen Henry Fonda

hitchhiking his way along in The Grapes of

Wrath. More recently, Disney animation Cars

was based on real people and places along

the iconic 3,940km stretch. Your automobile

isnt the only one that will need a decent

reuelling stop en route, and the Green Chile

Cheeseburgers at 66 Diner should get you

going. Road-weary travellers sit under pink

uoro lights on stainless-steel swivel stools

glugging chocolate peanut-butter milkshakes

and shovelling down mammoth plates o

huevos rancheros and creamy chicken potpie.

Come up or air between mouthuls to select

Buddy Holly tracks on the jukebox, or to ash

a glance at the lie-size model o Marilyn

by the turquoise booth seats. Burgers rom

$6.99. 1405 Central Avenue NE, Albuquerque,

New Mexico (www.66diner.com).

Movie Colony hoTel

PAlM sPrings, cAliforniA

A motels not a motel without its own legend

and i the gossip along the Palm Springs

boulevards is to be believed, Jim Morrison

once leapt rom the balcony o Movie Colony

Hotel into the pool. Forty years later and the

same pool is breast-stroked by media types

rom LA (its just two hours away). And Movie

Colony is a abulous motel to catch zeds in

the rooms are Caliornia cool with seagrassoors, retro monochrome bathrooms and

sunny terraces. The hotel was originally built

in 1935, designed by Modernist superstar

Albert Frey, and has all those photogenic

eatures nostalgic travellers crave low-rise

living, in particular. Crucially, its a great pit

stop or road-trippers on the highway rom

LA to Phoenix, or or those on the classic Las

Vegas-LA-San Diego circuit. From $99 B&B.

726 North Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs,

Caliornia (www.moviecolonyhotel.com).

KaTeS lazy MeadoW MoTel

Mount treMPer, new York stAte

Set among expanses o rolling pastures next

to the Esopus creek is Kates Lazy Meadow

Motel, a peaceul red-and-green cabin.

Peaceul, that is, until starlet Mandy Moores

tour bus rumbles up (she took over the motel

or three nights during her tour a couple o




51/76


Road-weary travellers sit

under pink fuoro lights onstainless-steel swivel stools,

eating creamy chicken pie




52/76

50 K W T September 201050 K W T September 2010

total guIde | uSa Road tRIp


53/76


years ago). Truth be told, with or without

Ms Moore, theres a bit o a riot going on

inside B-52 singer Kate Piersons motel in the

Catskill mountains. The place is crammed

with orange daisy-print bedspreads, coloured

gobstopper-studded spiral staircases, retro

lamps and ceramic dogs. Artists Phillip

Maberry and Scott Walker lent a hand with

the dcor (their house was the set or the

Love Shack video, so you get the picture).

The lounge in Room Four eatures a river

scene mural studded with real branches and

gnomes bobbing downstream in rubber

rings. From $130 room only. 5191 Rt 28 Mount

Tremper, New York (www.lazymeadow.com).

ole WeST BeannBurger

Athens, texAs

You may have devoured the occasional

mammoth ry-up in your home country but

its a mere drop in an ocean o saturated at

compared with whats on oer at the Ole

West BeannBurger in Athens, Texas. Its

double-meat hal-pounder approaches thedimensions o a small Arican dictatorship

next to armband-sized onion rings and hety

chips. And its not just Texas big, its also

mighty ne bee rom the states sprawling

pastures. The Ole West is a pleasant enough

mix o check tablecloths and wood, but

in-the-know citizens have voted its burgers

the best in town. And they should know:

Athens claims to be the maternity ward o the

modern American burger the place where,

in the late 1880s, ca owner Uncle Fletch

Davis rst put a meat patty between slices

o bread. Youre not just mainlining calories,

youre scofng history. Double-meat hal-

pounder $7. 1500 E Tyler Street, Athens, Texas

(+1 903 675 8100).

Mangrove MaMaS

sugArloAf keY, floridA

Mangrove Mamas is a ramshackle roadside

eatery down the Florida Keys a string

o islands that skips south rom Miami,

connected, join-the-dots-style, by the

overseas highway. The riendly pit stop is so

casual that it might have been washed up

with the tide. Littered with dritwood and

shaded by banana trees and palm ronds,

it has no-uss concrete oors, mismatched

chairs and a brick replace (an incongruous

addition, given the balmy climate). Despite

the humble surrounds, the menu is great:

stued lobster and reshly grilled sh, washeddown with mocktails served in salt-rimmed

jam jars. Its the tangy key lime pie that draws

a loyal ollowing, though; savour it outside in

the tropical garden. A Florida avourite, its

served super-chilled, and delivers a sugary

boost thatll sustain you or the nal hop

down to Key West, the end-o-the-road island

that marks the most southerly point in the US.

Key lime pie costs $5 a slice. Mile marker 20,

Sugarloa Key, Florida (+1 305 745 3030).

MCdonaldS #1 STore MuSeuM

des PlAines, illinois

Fancy sinking your teeth into a Big Mac under

the original golden arches? Following uproar

when the worlds rst McDonalds was torn

down in the early 80s, the building rose

again (based on the chains original 1955

blueprints), Phoenix-like, and was turned

into a museum. The road sign o the rst

mascot, Speedee, is original, as are some

o the utensils on show milkshake mixers,

ryers rom the days when the all-male sta

(now replaced by waxy mannequins) actually

hand-cut the chips. There are no real burgers

served any more, but there is a working

McDonalds across the road, where you can

order supersize portions among glass-cased

exhibits and displays o ties worn by the rst

sta. McDonalds #1 Store Museum, 400 N

Lee Street, Des Plaines, Illinois (open rom

May to September; www.mcdonalds.com).

Madonna innsAn luis oBisPo, cAliforniA

Kitsch. Extremely kitsch. Liberace cut

with Hansel and Gretel, and a dash o the

Flintstones thrown in or good measure

kitsch. Madonna Inn, halway between LA and

Frisco in San Luis Obispo, is a retina-searing

riot o pink and gold, camped up with boulder

wateralls and bizarrely themed rooms. Take

your pick rom the rose-splattered walls and

bedspread o American Beauty; the red

ceiling o Madonna (a nice juxtaposition to its

waterall sink and rock walls); or the boulder-

coated cocoon o Caveman with its leopard-

print bedspread. Not staying? Book dinner

amid the bordello chic o the Gold Rush steak

house, or try a creamy Black Forest gteau

in the Alpine-style bakery perect or the

blistering Caliornia sun outside. From $140

room only. 100 Madonna Road, San Luis

Obispo, Caliornia (www.madonnainn.com).

Mangrove Mamas

tangy key lime pie

will sustain you or

the nal hop downto Key West

Clockwise from top left: Movie Colony Hotel; The Shady

Dell; Kates Lazy Meadow Motel; You cant beat an

American burger; Madonna Inn; Service with a smile is

standard in diners (just make sure you tip accordingly).

lrn h in

Sweet talk: be sure to learn some American

diner slang beore you order. Deadeye is a

poached egg; keep o the grass means no

lettuce; axle grease is butter; frst lady is an

order o spare ribs; while a blonde with sand

is coee with cream and sugar.

ls in rnsmissint iscvr hr is knw b la, sys John Arlidge,


54/76


bhin h wh.

new Yk may be e y a eve eep

b lA a mep e mve. i

mdg ad im adg e eae

pde rb ree me. i me,

ava eak suV peed we saa

Ma Bevad. t my e, kyape

gw ed ad we, ag e g

ad p-a a. t e g, ebeam oea Avee vebe pk

Paf ca hgway 1 ad e ea beyd.

LA can be one big trafc jam, but choose

your moments, and it is also the greatest

driving city in America. Take to the wheel

o a large automobile and youll nd out

everything you need to know about the place.

Just ask Anne Block, who runs the citys rstdrive tour, To Live and Drive in LA (www.

takemymotherplease.com). We meet in the car

park o the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Block is sitting behind the wheel o her 1998

Cadillac Sedan DeVille. Welcome to LA, she

smiles, as she steps out and hands me the key

to a clunky-looking hybrid hal-electric, hal-

petrol Ford Escape. You have to drive the car

o the moment and, right now, that means ahybrid. Weve gone green overnight.

First, though, I need to get my bearings.

We dont do maps in LA, we have something

better, says Anne. Come see. Hal an hour

later, I ease into the car park at the Getty

Center art museum, high in the Hollywood hills,

and walk past the Monets and Rembrandts on

to the terrace to admire the best picture o all.

Stretched out beore me like a giant tableau isLA. To the right are the coastal districts o Santa

Monica, Malibu and Venice. In ront are Beverly

Hills and Century City. Below is Hollywood.

Let, rising through the grey og and haze, is

Downtown and, behind it, South Central.

Now, you need a little history, says Anne.

We head downtown on the 10 Freeway and pull

over at a sign that reads Historic Arroyo Seco

Parkway. Dry Creek Road may not sound likemuch, but this is where every road trip should

start: This is the rst reeway in America, built

in the 1940s, Anne explains. Its the road that

convinced Americans that reedom is only a

drive away. It has shaped everything in LA.

As we rumble over the reeway, I realise its

true. LA is a city more about cars and motion

(pictures) than anything static. There are ew

skyscrapers because when the city grew thanks to roads it expanded ouwards,



55/76


56/76


not upwards. In a town that is bigger than most

island nations, pedestrians are an endangered

species. And what you drive tells the world

who you are or, at least, who you want to be.

Everything hangs in a hubcaps balance.

So, beore we start cruising, we need to

make sure we look good. Twenty dollars or the

wash and wax, please, says Maurice Aguillera,

head valet at La Cienega car wash on La

Cienega Boulevard. You want cherry soda? No

thanks. How about lemon lime? No, really, Im

not thirsty. Anne laughs. Its not or you. Give

the car a new smell. I opt or New Car.

Where do you want to cruise rst? asks

Anne. A light blings on in my head. South

Central. I my car really is the right ride, the

place to pose will be the home o the low-

rider, tricked out with chrome wheels and

vanity licence plates: the ghetto. On Crenshaw

Boulevard I meet Mario Don, who runs the

Magic Shears Aro Hair Salon, and drives a

black Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. Sweet ride,

he says, admiring my car. But being green isnt

enough. This is LA, he says. People care about

your character but they care more about what

you got. I I were you, Id get a second car, toimpress. A Ferrari you know what Im saying?

A $930,000 Ferrari Enzo stands on the

orecourt o Black on Black Motor Sports in

lw-bn czn

Dont cruise up and down Sunset Boulevard

at night its been made illegal to reduce noise

and racing. Tip valet parkers $5-$10. Dont havean accident in Beverly Hills: you wont fnd a

hospital in that part o the city, because nobody

ever gets ill in Beverly Hills.Always stop dead at

a Stop sign. Even slowly rolling past one, when

the road ahead is clear, can mean a $195 fne.

Motorways are called freeways. The speed limit

on Caliornian reeways is 65mph (100kph); on

other roads its 25mph (40kph). LA roads can be

up to 40km long, so dont use street numbers

to navigate: ask or the cross street which

crosses the main road nearest your destination.



57/76


Beverly Hills, hal an hour rom South Central.

Manager Rick Black says he has a ull order

book or the next 12 months, but some

customers change cars every month, so Ill get

a ew back in. Every month? They get bored.

Or the ashtrays get ull. Hes only hal joking.

Where can I see the people who change

their cars more oten than their therapist, I

ask Anne? Its a short run, via the Petersen

Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard, to

palm-lined Rodeo Drive. On this street, how

you arrive is more important than what you

wear, says Anne. Right on cue, a woman whos

had so much cosmetic surgery she surely no

longer remembers what she originally looked

like, arrives in a canary-yellow Hummer. She

checks in her two cocker spaniels pets are

accessories, ater all at the Beverly Wilshire

hotel and totters towards Prada.

Hey lady, what war are you ghting? a

passer-by shouts, pointing at her giant military

vehicle. The environmental lobby may have

made it to Beverly Hills but the surgery queen

is unimpressed. She raises a drawn-on eyebrow

and shouts, The planet is so O-V-E-R.

I need some resh air. Pacic Coast Highway1 runs north to San Francisco ater Route

66, its the most amous stretch o Tarmac in

America. We soon leave the smog behind and

enjoy the spume-ecked breeze as we head or

Dukes Bareoot Lounge in Malibu, a restaurant

set up by Duke Kahanamoku, the Hawaiian who

brought surng to the USA.

Maybe its the Huli Huli sandwich, maybe the

sun has ried our brains, but ater lunch I wishwe could throw caution not to mention taste

to the wind and head north, singing sot rock

classics all the way to Santa Barbara. But this is

an LA story, so instead we head back down the

coast and pull onto Sunset Boulevard. Its 40km

long and runs rom the Pacic to Downtown,

passing through Brentwood, Bel Air, Beverly

Hills and Hollywood.

Later, Anne takes me to Miyagis restaurant.

It has a giant raised car park and a driveway

that leads right up to the best tables. Theres

a new Bentley Azure on the driveway. Its time

to tackle those great taste-makers o Caliornia

car culture: valet parkers. Does my Escape have

enough pull to park out ront within ogling

distance o the best tables? I give the head

valet parker my best out ront look. He barks:

Move the Bentley. The Escape is coming in.

Why? The biggest tippers are driving them

unny new electrics these days, he replies.

Ater easting on sushi and snippets o

conversation between Hollywood actors and

their leather-skinned agents, Anne and I drive

into the hills to catch the last o the sun rom

Mulholland Drive. I pull over, turn of the engine

and listen to the cicadas. The soundtrack ispure Tuscany, but staring down at the twinkling

tail-lights like a billion stars, I could only be in

the most car-centric city in the world.

Then its of to Rob Reiners home: tonights

party venue or exclusive London club Soho

House. On the way, we speed through a tunnel

negotiated by Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise in

Collateral. The basso thump o the engine as it

bounces of the tiles is movie poetry. When wearrive, the Escape does it again. The security

steakheads dont let just anyone in but, seeing

the car, they gure Anne and I are anything but

anyone. We walk in past Leonardo DiCaprio and

Sharon Stone, enjoying our new-ound status.

As we stare out rom the terrace over the city,

I realise that weve travelled more than 240km,

taken in hilltop roads, palm-lined boulevards,

the ocean, and nished where we started.

Weve gone nowhere and everywhere. Thats

weird, I tell Anne. That, she smiles, is LA.

Seeing the car, the

security guards

fgure were anything

but no one

Clockwise from top left: Santa Monica Pier; Lifeguards

patrol the beaches; In Los Angeles what matters is not

what you wear but what you drive; Queensway Bay.

K rinthn s srchin in inniy; wiin a-rins; binkin m sins. S vciv

i h a i i h i h b k fi h h uS hi h i


58/76


is h amricn r mvi h is h n bk yr fihs h uS whi h cris

r si rin. Hr r r cssics, s h crci crib ns rcr h ri.

eaSy rider

(d hpp, 1969)

This is the lm that

launched a thousand

bike trips, as the laid-

back Wyatt, played by

Peter Fonda, and Billy

(Dennis Hopper), his

uncool sidekick, rev their way rom Mexico

to New Orleans or Mardi Gras. Easy Rider

eatures road-movie motis galore: striated

pink and purple sunsets, neon-lit motels,

desert gas stations, and a classic soundtrack by

Steppenwol, Hendrix and Dylan. On their way

to New Orleans, they pass through numerous

clashing Americas, rom a hippie commune

already going to seed, to the ultimately lethal

redneck territories o the Deep South. Even

the non-speaking characters stand out: a

moustachioed ca proprietress in gingham

smirking as her bigoted regulars taunt the duo

o the premises, or the black arming amily,

who simply wave as they pass. This is a picture

o an America thats deeply uneasy with itsel,

whose lingering divisions resonate even today.

THE ROUTE: Interstate 10, rom El Paso in

Texas, on the Mexican border, to New Orleans.

Thats almost 2,000km across two states so

youll need a week.

RELIVE THE MOMENT: The amous scene

in the redneck ca, eaturing genuine locals,

takes place in the village o Morganza,

northwest o New Orleans, o Highway 61.

MOST ROADWORTHY QUOTE: What you

represent to them is reedom Talking about

it and being it, thats two dierent things.

BadlandS

(t Ma, 1973)

Little did I realise that

what began in the

alleys and backways

o this quiet town

would end in the

badlands o Montana.

So says 15-year-old

Holly (Sissy Spacek) who watches her lie

degenerate rom a straightorward across-

the-tracks teen romance into a bloodbath, as

Kit (Martin Sheen) hones his shooting skills on

Spaceks dismal ather, and is soon applying

them liberally across two states. Its a bleak

introduction to Badlands National Park, yet

the movie still pulls ans across the Atlantic.

Its down to Badlands haunting but irresistible

portrait o the Midwest: craggy, Stetsoned old

men; small-time school maams; and petrol

pump attendants standing solitary among sun-

aked Pepsi-Cola murals.

THE ROUTE: Interstate 90, rom South Dakota

through Wyoming to Montana roughly

600km, which you could do in a long weekend.

RELIVE THE MOMENT: For details on South

Dakotas Badlands National Park, visit www.

allblackhills.com/badlands.

MOST ROADWORTHY QUOTE: Through

desert and mesa, across endless miles o open

range we made our headlong way, steering by

the telephone lines towards Montana.

total guIde | uSa Road tRIp


59/76


ThelMa & louiSe

(ry s, 1991)

Sixties America didnt

hold much or the

country girl. Take

Thelma. She has no car,

no money and barely

leaves the house or ear

o a beating rom her brutish husband. Thelma

does, however, have Louise. And together,

without telling a soul, Thelma, played by Geena

Davis, and Louise (Susan Sarandon) embark on

a journey that takes them to one o the mostmemorable lm endings ever made. Slipping

o the shackles o suburban living, the girls

speed o or a weekend in the mountains in

their iconic 1966 green Thunderbird but ater

stopping at a roadside ca, their plans soon

head downhill when Louise shoots a man dead.

With the law hot on their heels, so begins the

inamous road trip that makes this lm the

showpiece o a repressed eminine era. Taking

on the men o America, they shoot their way

towards Mexico.

THE ROUTE: From Oklahoma suburbia to

Mexico, purposely avoiding Texas (look at a

map and youll appreciate how difcult that

is). We suggest you just do the New Mexico

to Grand Canyon bit, which measures about

1,200km (roughly two days).

RELIVE THE MOMENT: Look out or Court

House Towers in Arches National Park, Utah, or

the memorable scene where the policeman was

locked in his trunk.

MOST ROADWORTHY QUOTE: You shoot oa guys head, believe me, Texas aint the place

you want to get caught.

PariS, TexaS

(wm w, 1984)

A bearded man picks

his solitary way across

the blinding emptiness

o Americas southern

desert. Soon he has been

Documents

Kanoo.world.traveller.september