The tragic disappearance and death of Britt Lapthorne struck a chord with every backpacker or traveller who has left the safety of their home for foreign adventure; and now Britt’s legacy has evolved into an iPhone application that should be an essential travel companion. Melbourne man Tim Hine felt compelled after hearing of Britt’s story, to develop an application that would notify loved ones around the world if the owner was in trouble. Once activated, the ‘I am Safe’ application sends off recorded voice, email and SMS messages to five pre-determined loved ones anywhere in the world, it also determines the location of the owner via GPS and has an audio file that records everything that is happening around the phone. Initially only supported by iPhones, the ‘I am Safe’ app will eventually be available for use on other platforms.
Archive for the 'Travel' Category
paris 48°5on 2°23e
If you’re heading to Paris soon and want a travel guide that’s a little different from what’s out there, artist Ami Sioux has the perfect solution for you. Ami asked 50 Paris locals to hand-draw a map to a place that was personally significant to them. She then followed their directions and took a photo of the destination. The result is Paris 48°50N 2°23E, a creative and unique insight into the everyday lives of Parisians and a great guide for those who wish to explore the less travelled roads and streets of Paris. Paris 48°50N 2°23E is part of the °Books series which also includes a guide to Reykjavik, Iceland. Image via Ami Sioux.
The big wet
Southerners; avert your eyes and block your ears. This morning I awoke to find my boyfriend had left the sprinkler running overnight. In other states, this would generate extreme panic, the wrath of neighbours and possibly legal action. Initially I felt a wave of remorse and guilt; however, as we live in a city without water restrictions, we shrugged our shoulders and continued on with our lives. Eighteen months ago I moved from Brisbane to Darwin as a water conscious, frugal consumer of H20. I dutifully used a water timer while showering. I let my car become stained with dust and caked with mud in the name of water conservation. I even recycled the used water from my washing machine to use on the garden. Yet I am now a shadow of my former self. I have become acclimatised to the Territory’s ways. Continue reading ‘The big wet’
Regarded by his peers for his unique photographic aesthetic and minimalist sensibilities, photographer Boone Speed has found himself in some places most people have never heard of during his career. Boone’s photographs have been the subject of editorial and commercial campaigns, ranging from travel essays and action sports stories, to intimate portraiture and fine art. His ability to rock climb has seen him being singled out by companies such as Patagonia, Nike, National Geographic Adventure and Nixon to help them tell and sell some stories. Boone’s ability to capture nature and adventure sports is incredible. In each photograph he manages to focus on either the sport or the setting and provide each element with the same sense of greatness; the sportsperson and nature are equally as mesmerising in each of Boone’s images. For a glimpse into the life of a photographer with action-packed working days visit Feature Shoot.
World air traffic in 24hrs: and we thought our roads were busy!
Travel reveals the common and the unique. This post concerns the latter and comes from the streets of Kyoto, Japan. I was lucky enough recently to divide 16 days between Tokyo, Kyoto and the renowned pow pow of Niseko (Carl nodding in agreement). I now understand why every second person I told prior to leaving Australia was either going themselves or knew someone who was for its Winter. At the end of a memorable, albeit rainy day exploring Kyoto’s impeccable temples and shogunate residencies on bike, my partner in crime and I made our way back to return our trusty steel steeds. Upon receipt of the hire deposit, we were encouraged to rest our weary, sodden bodies in an amber lit cafe next door called Lush Life. Continue reading ‘lush life.’
The title of this post is taken from SBS’s current brand statement and it succinctly describes how I’m feeling, sitting and sweating on my bed in a muggy Sydney. We ended 2008 with a surprising, conceit and less than inspiring carbon emissions reduction target for Australia in 2020, Israel invading the Gaza Strip and Australia going down in the first Test match against South Africa. 2009 began with India claiming the Pakistan government were implicit in the Mumbai bomb attacks, Russia cutting off the supply of gas to heat Eastern Europe and rumours emerging about a wrestling film reportedly the standout of the awards season. Continue reading ‘6 billion stories and counting.’
If there is any city that can bring the fantastical the momentous and the garish together in one explosion of deplorable architecture … it is Dubai. World, meet Dubai’s maddest hotel Atlantis, inspired by Plato’s enchanted legend of the great empire, the “Lost City of Atlantis”, founded by the sea-god Poseidon. According to Plato, inhabitants of the city were punished for their greed and decadence by being submerged in a deluge. If there is one thing this hotel and Dubai do successfully it is capture, true to Plato’s word, decadence and water in abundance, everywhere. The oceanic tribute was brought to life by Sol Kerzner a billionaire South African property developer, who formerly opened a replica in the Bahamas. The extravagant 1,539 room, $1.8 billion megaplex is located on an artificial Island in the azure Arabian Gulf. The Island, illuminating Dubai’s true kitsch mentality is in the shape of a palm tree, giving the area 520km more length of shoreline to exploit. Reveling in the ridiculous, the fun park hotel guests can stay in the top suites at $33,000 a pop or in one of the Lost Chamber suites which houses underwater rooms, halls and tunnels looking up into the Ambassador Lagoon. The aqua walls are jam packed with 65,000 marine animals which includes two hundred and fifty different species of fish and sea creatures. Never short on stimuli the bathroom is even enclosed by the aquarium where you can sit and watch sharks, eels, manta rays, piranhas, and multitudes of exotic fish glide by while you are in fact on the toilet.
harbingers of a new season
The rains are coming, or so they say. You can tell by the dark clouds ominously encompassing the city; pregnant and expecting, yet not delivering.
It’s the time of the year that most locals I’ve met love the most; The Build-up. The time of the year when you know you are in the tropics. It feels like the air, the trees, and the city are about to come to fruition. The Top End is heavy with palpable goodness and possibility.
Mango trees dangle over fences, laden with fruit. Sweet-smelling frangipani trees line the streets, covered in white and yellow blooms. Flaming red Poinciana trees and wine-coloured bougainvillea embrace suburban sidewalks. Green frogs move in to most people’s houses; their nightly echoes heralding the approach of the distant downpour.
Most tourists leave town to escape the sultry climes. The locals breathe a sigh of relief. The streets become quiet again. Most waterholes close for the wet. Locals spend their time lolling in the pool, sitting in louvred houses under fans and walking by a spectacular sunset. Laksas still seem to be consumed with gusto.
People start mentioning the ‘c’ word. Cyclone. Workplaces brief staff on emergency action plans, shelters and surge zones. The council holds a collection day, to cart away anything that can’t be tied down. People stock up on torches, first aid kits, and battery-powered radios.
And so we wait. For the rains to come, for cyclone season, for Christmas; while soaking up the anticipation and perspiration of the Build-up and watching the wet season loom.
the rough side of luxury
What is luxury? According to the creators of Rough Luxe, it’s not what you might think, especially when it comes to a hotel. To them, luxury is a moment in time rather than just part of an object of consumption. Luxury is an enriching personal experience and not only an ownership of an expensive object. It’s time for reflection, personal encounters with people, nature, architecture and environment as well as food and social and cultural experiences linked to geographic locations. It’s the intellectual solicitation, listening to one’s own feelings as well as comparing objects and time and thinking of their hierarchy. Suffice it to say that the Rough Luxe Hotel experience is about your surroundings, the intrinsic value of objects, art, culture and the people around you, as well as the ‘consumable’’ items that you encounter in the hotel itself. With hotels in London and Cape Town, the Rough Luxe Group aims to create an experience that will no doubt appeal to growing flashpacker market – one that is one part rough and one part luxury. While your room might be small and you might even share a bathroom, the wine will be exquisite, the bed linen luxurious, and the service unparalleled. For the Rough Luxe philosophy is simple: “You are staying with us in our home, so just ask.”
New York is one of those places that you want to return to again and again. The city’s lush Central Park links Harlem with Fifth Avenue. The bright lights of Times Square are amazing for the first time and the filthy subway system has an alluring presence. B-boys monopolise the city’s streets with nothing but a cardboard box to drop their moves on. As you discover the city, signs pass you along the way leading to Flushing Meadows, Yankee Stadium and Ground Zero and remind you that you’re in a truly magnificent metropolis. What makes New York City really standout is its people – from the rich Fifth Avenue types and Harlem’s characters to the Meatpacking District’s newfound elite. Continue reading ‘new york photo series’
mama shelter
Architect, interior and industrial designer Philippe Starck’s latest hotel project was recently unveiled in France. Created in collaboration with the Trigano family (founders of Club Med) and enveloped by the heart of cultural Paris, Mama Shelter is an eclectic and atmospheric hotel that balances a fine line between bohemian and bourgeois. The unique spatial and lighting designs have created a dimly lit Parisian escape, where modestly sized rooms boast five-star bedding and internet-ready iMacs. The diverse interior switches from sleek designer surfaces and minimalist, monochromatic palettes to busy, word-filled walls, ceilings and floors, and elaborate lighting features. Tucked between artists’ studios in the Saint Blaise quartier, Mama Shelter beckons artisans and creative types who want to experience the hidden inner sanctum of Paris’ music, art and creative scene.
Imagining what earth looks like from a bird’s eye view is easily satisfied with internet applications such as Google Earth. In 2005, Ira Mowen and Luca Antonucci had an idea to capture an aerial view of their hometown of San Francisco. After only a few days of deliberation, they attached a video camera to 30 red helium-filled balloons and let it go from Twin Peaks – the city’s highest point. Drifting through the air, a distant red mass could be seen dropping and rising with the gusts of wind lifting the camera through the air. Realising how important it was to retrieve the camera, Ira and Luca started to chase the obscure images of San Francisco recording on the camera. Continue reading ‘the balloon project’
a balinese blessing
I had high hopes for the week in Bali. I’d heard therapeutic-sounding tales of the island’s virtues; a place perfect for relaxation, massages and downtime. This was my main aim for the week; an island getaway.
Only two hours by plane from Darwin, the temperature was similar to the Top End; a little humid and barely dropping below 27 degrees. After being picked up from the airport by my driver, Yeoman, we whizzed through narrow streets lined with a blur of wooden furniture shops, stone statues of ancient gods, and colourful flags. We were on our way to my haven-from-the-world for the week, a ‘cultural village’ called Desa Seni.
The village is about 30 minutes from the airport in Denpasar, so Yeoman and I had time to chat on the way. He told me that after the bomb attacks at Jimbaran and Kuta in 2005, many tourists stopped coming to Bali. Now, slowly they have started to come back. Through the city streets we sped, while Yeoman pointed out some key points of interest on the way, Continue reading ‘a balinese blessing’
a day trip of a lifetime
We’re on our way to an annual open day; the day the people of Oenpelli; or by its Aboriginal name, Gunbalanya; welcome curious visitors onto their traditional land, to share their culture and raise funds for the community. Gunbalanya is a community located about 300km east of Darwin in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Its open day is the one day of the year that members of the public are able to visit without a Northern Land Council permit. We arrive at Cahill’s Crossing, which borders Arnhem Land and Kakadu, and is the point where Kakadu ends and Arnhem Land begins. From here on in, visitors would usually require a permit.
Turn it into a hostel! Welcome to one of the world’s coolest hostels in Arlanda, Stockholm! The 1976 Boeing 747-200 has been converted into the Jumbo Hostel. The 85 room hostel is the sheer ingeniousness of Oscar Dios – previous owner of hostel Uppsala Vandrarhem och Hotell. Here you can spend the night onboard a real jumbo jet – in the ground! Choose between sparkling three-bed rooms with shared shower and toilet in the corridor or the luxury suite in the converted cockpit with its panoramic view of the airport. In December 2007, Oscar Dios was granted the building permit for establishing the Jumbo Hostel at the entrance to Arlanda airport and this summer it will open to the public. Welcome aboard!
A friend of mine once said that she liked camping “except for the sleeping outside in tents part”. The luxury teepees from Perfect Earth Tours may just change her mind. Set against the pristine backdrop of the Yukon in Canada, the teepees are outfitted in hardwood floors, queen-sized beds, sustainable organic bedding and mattresses, two DVD players, a fully stocked bar, a central fireplace and wi-fi. When not luxuriating in the five-star camping experience, other activites include hiking, Caribou watching, soaking in the hot-tub, canoeing or partaking in a range of spa activities such as in-tent massage. There’s even a wood-fired outdoor hot tub to soak in as you watch the Northern Lights. For those still not convinced, Perfect Earth advocate organic sustainability and source local organic ingredients for all their cuisine, with the menu changing day-to-day to embrace the use of seasonal ingredients.
One of the many delights of travel, for those who enjoy simple pleasures, is that moment when you stumble across an unassuming bookstore tucked away in a charismatic pocket of a foreign metropolis. The kind of place where, from the moment the bell above the doorway delicately announces your arrival, you enter a wonderful world of imagination, illustration and thousands of pages just waiting to be turned. Such a nook beckons you to linger for hours on end, the day’s itinerary swept away by the promise of imaginative fodder, and it’s one you return to with fondness upon each visit back to that same city. When in Paris, it might be The Red Wheelbarrow; in Tokyo, Shibuya Publishing Booksellers or Cow Books; in Brussels, Posada. But when in Singapore, it’s BooksActually where travellers go to rest their weary feet and excercise the depths of their imaginations. Continue reading ‘a traveller’s delight’
Is it because I am big? And please … don’t tell me it is because I am brown - judgements by colour are so “old school”. Honestly, I’m usually more scared of others; and I’m so shy, most days you would never see me. I might be hanging around near a light during the evenings - but hey, have you tried reading in the dark lately? Now if I try and consider your perspective on things, on the business end of my life, that is food and children, I certainly try my best to look scary. And might I add, don’t ever let my wife think you are after the kids - she will not be happy. Still, think of it this way… with me at my best and you guys at your worst, I don’t have a chance. Nor would I want to eat you: yuk! I mean no offense. Why then, are us Arachnids (scorpions, spiders, solifugids, amblypygids, Pseudoscorpions and ticks amoungst others) some of the most misunderstood creatures on earth? Look at me for example, a Rain Spider, or also called a Huntsman. This is a picture of me with one of my best buddies, Jonathan Leeming, the author of “Scorpions of Southern Africa”… Continue reading ‘Why do people not like me?’
The winter chill bites deep in Melbourne, but that’s when the creative scene really gets cracking. So pack your woollens. Here’s my pick of upcoming southern revelries: 1. The (inaugural) Melbourne Festival of Travel Writing (19-20 July). 2. Which is on the same weekend as the Melbourne International Design Festival, which includes the famed Design Market shopfloor and a series of open houses at usually off-limits historic buildings (somebody pass me the oxygen). 3. ‘Prey’, Julia DeVille’s latest exhibition of Victorian inspired jewellery. 4. New artworks will emerge in the city’s always-amazing, ever-changing laneways. 5. No need to go chasing big balls of wool around town. Crafty kittens get thee to the Thread Den sewing lounge for one-off habadashery sessions. 6. Banish chills with some wood-fired oven-lovin’… learn to bake sourdough at The Convent Bakery, using masonry wood-fired ovens built in 1901. 7. Haul out that flapper frock and head to NGV International for a whiz-bang Art Deco exhibition. How’s that for scratching the surface? Hello, work? I need to reschedule. Check out more happenings at Lost and Found and Three Thousand.
