Open Skies | May 2013

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Socotra is quite possibly the most beautiful place you have never heard of. An otherworldly island of epic scenery, unique wildlife and a warm and welcoming local population; this is one of the few places you should see before you die. We take a trip there with Spanish photographer Juan Herrero, who captures the essence of the place brilliantly. Elsewhere, we meet a mother who has travelled the world with her son – and relive the adventures and misadventures that make independent travel with a child so rewarding. We also take a trip to Amsterdam, and one of its most charming streets – Haarlemmerstraat. We take in Colombo, East London, and meet some of San Francisco’s pinball wizards. And if all that wasn’t enough, we feature one of Dubai’s most relaxing areas – Safa Park, an oasis of greenery in the heart of the city. Enjoy the issue.

Emirates takes care to ensure that all facts published herein are correct. In the event of any inaccuracy please contact The Editor. Any opinion expressed is the honest belief of the author based on all available facts. comments and facts should not be relied upon by the reader in taking commercial, legal, financial or other decisions. Articles are by their nature general and specialist advice should always be consulted before any actions are taken.

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Open skies / MAY 2013

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contents / MAY 2013

39 34

Roy Lichenstein’s exhibition continues at the Tate Modern

36

A stroll down one of Amsterdam’s coolest streets

NorwegianMexican experimental pop singer Carmen Villain reveals her top tracks

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56

42

Bespoke luxury on the Indonesian island of Bali

23

A trip through Safa Park, Dubai’s (not so) America’s most secret garden interesting museum

Open skies / MAY 2013

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A London restaurant with a difference

CONTENTS / MAY 2013

90

Stunning photos of the Yemeni island of Socotra

70

How one mother is travelling the world with her child

80

Italian politics’ new joker king – Beppe Grillo

FRONT (29) BITS Question/Grid Calendar The Street Skypod Room Consume

30 32 34 36 39 42 45

Our Man BLD Mapped Local Knowledge Place Column Store

NEWS (103)

MAIN (69) Have Son, Will Travel Italy’s Joker King Socotra Journey

46 51 52 56 61 62 64

70 80 90

News Green Fleet

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OPEN SKIES / MAY 2013

105 108 118

© 2013 SWAROVSKI AG

SWAROVSKI.COM

contributors Tom cullen

Tom is the awardwinning EditorIn-Chief of Mr Hyde, a daily email mail-out for men that focuses on the latest and greatest things to do in London and the surrounding area.

briTTany shooT

Brittany Shoot is a freelance writer and pinball enthusiast living and working in downtown San Francisco. She has written for Time, The New York Times and the Guardian.

lee marshall

Lee Marshall is a freelance British writer who has lived in Italy since 1984. As well as writing about travel and culture for various US and UK publications, he blogs on Italian society and politics for the weekly magazine Internazionale.

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Open skies / MAY 2013

Theodora suTcliffe

London-born Theodora is currently living the life nomadic as a freelance writer for publications including the Guardian – with her long-suffering son Zac in tow.

You can find her at escapeartistes.com.

juan herrero

Juan is a Spanish photographer whose work has been published

by Paris Match, Der Spiegel, The Atlantic and Vice.

He has lived in Spain, The Netherlands and Cuba, and is also a contributing photographer at Redux Pictures.

FRONT 36

52

64

AMSTERDAM

COLOMBO

LONDON

Take a stroll down one of the city’s most charming streets

Pinball Wizard How San Francisco became the pinball capital of the world

(46)

A Mapped guide to the underrated Sri Lankan capital

A new East London restaurant with a difference

Bits

Cannes Film Festival

The world’s mosT waTched film fesTival is back, and This year The line-up is more eclecTic Than ever

StarS / Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, Ryan Gosling, Muhammad Ali, and the Coen Brothers

y

es, it’s that time of year again – when film fans around the world look to a town on the southern french coast. The cannes film festival – running from may 15th to 26th – will feature cinema’s biggest names vying for the palme d’or. This year’s line-up is particularly eclectic, with the most mainstream offering probably nicolas winding refn and ryan Gosling’s bangkok gangster film, only God forgives. The rest of the contenders are equally impressive, with offerings from steven soderbergh, roman polanski, alexander payne and the coen brothers. we are also looking forward to british director steven frears’ muhammad ali’s Greatest fight, which looks at the boxer’s refusal to fight in the vietnam war. another film that is generating excitement is steven soderbergh’s liberace biopic behind The caladabra, starring michael douglas and matt damon. cannes is the first festival of the season, and is often an indication of what will do well at the oscars the following year. we can’t wait. www.festival-cannes.fr/en.html

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Open skies / MAY 2013

Dubai is full of surprises

W

hen it comes to planning a summer vacation, the city of dubai is rapidly gaining a reputation as one of the places to be during the summer months. To further enhance its position as the ultimate summer destination, dubai is launching a major campaign called “summer is dubai” spread across 13 weeks, from June 7th to september 7th. as a city, dubai is built for summer. it has world-class hotels, a plethora of air conditioned shopping malls, water parks and attractions such as the opportunity to ski indoors on snow. during “summer

The region’s biggesT fesTival, summer is dubai, is nearly here. We find ouT WhaT’s on offer

is dubai” residents and visitors will be able to find a wide range of worldclass events, exciting promotions and value for money offers such as amazing hotel packages for families that include free accommodation for two children under the age of 12 for a 3-night stay. “summer is dubai” begins with the popular dubai summer surprises (dss) festival that transforms the whole city into a playground of ‘edutainment’ while at the same time giving families the chance to grab shopping bargains. dss will be followed by ramadan in dubai, featuring events that will

allow visitors to experience the spiritual and serene ambience during this important month in the islamic calendar, and also get a true flavour of emirati hospitality and traditions. visitors and local residents will then get the opportunity to celebrate together in harmony at the eid in dubai festivities during eid al fitr. right across the “summer is dubai” campaign, modhesh World, an indoor ‘edutainment’ park dedicated to dubai’s summer mascot modhesh, will be operational, much to the delight of families and children. www.summerisdubai.com

We discover the best places to sample breakfast, lunch and dinner in the Lebanese capital page 51 31

Open skies / MAY 2013

beirut bites

the question

How MAny ping-pong bALLS cAn FiT inTo A 747-400 Aer0pLAne? Think this is a question you will never have to answer? Think again. This has been known to crop up in interviews for the likes of Google and Goldman Sachs – the idea being that the best candidates think laterally, asking if they can use the space in the ovens, or the fuel cells in the wings. Interviewers also expect some attempt to answer literally – so here we go: the 747-400 has a passenger volume of 876 cubic metres, plus a cargo volume of 159 cubic metres, giving a total of 1,035 cubic metres; the balls have a diameter of 40mm (assuming we are using Olympic standard

balls). This totals about 22,870,000 ping pong balls (give or take a few). If each ball weighs 2.7 grams, the load would be too heavy for the plane to take off, which is just one of myriad reasons why this has never been attempted.

So, if you are attempting to get a job with a major hedge fund, an investment bank, or a searchengine giant, make sure you know your maths, and you know how to think ‘outside the box’.

As for attempting to fill a 747-400 with ping-pong balls, that is a wholey different matter – although we presume an order for nearly 23 million ping-pong balls would entitle you to some form of discount.

the grid The world’s top eight darts players (including Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor, below) will be taking part in the Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters at the Dubai Tennis Stadium.

The competition will run on May 23rd and 24th. www.dubaidutyfree.com

The Act Dubai is the newest player in Dubai’s growing club scene. One part club, one part theatre and one part restaurant, the venue is open only on Thursdays, and promises to bring a mix of trashy glamour (and Peruvian food) to the city.

Expect a good time (and some long queues). theactdubai.com

Royal Moscow Ballet will be performing Swan Lake at Dubai World Trade Centre between May 9th and 13th. In total, 37 dancers – the cream of Russia’s ballet talent – will be performing this classic. A must for culture fans. swanlakedubai.com

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Open skies / MAY 2013

Indie rock legends – Florence And The Machine – will be playing Sandance this month; news that is sure to delight Dubai’s indie-starved fans.

The May 10th gig will see the band joined by Keane and downtempo legends, Nightmares on Wax. florenceandthemachine.net

M ay

CALENDAR

May 22 to 26

PriMavera SoUnd MUSic feStivaL

Expect the beaches and streets of Barcelona to be overrun with skinny jeans, novelty hats and fluoro-glasses as one of Europe’s biggest and trendiest music festivals returns. This year’s indie festival will see the likes of Britpop legends Blur, nick cave and the Bad Seeds and the wu-Tang clan performing across eight stages.

PriMavEraSounD.coM

May 10 to 13

Frieze Art Fair New York’s foremost contemporary art fair is back this month. Based on its wildly successful namesake in London, the Manhattan-based Frieze exhibition will feature 180 different galleries and some of the most exciting artists working today. There will also be daily programmes of keynote lectures, panel debates and discussions featuring leading art-world figures, philosophers and critical theorists. friEzEnEwyork.coM

Until May 11

arT By: roy LichTEnSTEin, whaaM! 1963

LittLe BLack Jacket exhiBition

until May 27

Roy Lichtenstein exhibition London’s Tate Modern wraps up its exhibition on the works of pop artist Roy Lichtenstein this month. The showing has been the first big Lichtenstein retrospective for more than 20 years, bringing together 125 of his most definitive paintings and sculptures.

Lichtenstein is best-known for his comic-strip style and advertising imagery, and the exhibition will showcase key paintings such as Look Mickey and his monumental Artist’s Studio series.

Sometimes it’s the simplest of things that make the most impact. Take the little black jacket from fashion supremo chanel; its versatility as a fashion staple has inspired some of the greatest minds in fashion to constantly reinvent it.

Such is its longevity that legendary designer karl Lagerfeld has produced a book and exhibition documenting the history of the garment. following successful stints in London, Paris, Milan and new york, the exhibition highlighting the cultural impact of the jacket will be on display this month in Dubai, featuring shots from Lagerfeld and celebrities including keira knightley, Diane kruger and carla Bruni.

ThELiTTLEBLackjackET.chanEL.coM

TaTE.org.uk

Place

EMP Seattle page 61 34

Open skies / MAY 2013

the street

Haarlemmerstraat

Running west from Central Station, Haarlemmerstraat/Haarlemmerdijk is a strolling street if ever there was one. By the time you reach the monumental Haarlem city gate, you may have squeezed your own orange juice, had your toes nibbled by tiny fish and found the shop you never knew you were looking for.

In this coolest street in town, specialisation has reached a new high: there are shops selling just juices, just sweets, just wool, just cookery books. Dutch staples like cheese, flowers and bikes are also on offer.

The hours will pass without you even noticing, but it’ll be time well spent. Remember to take your credit card, because not all shops accept cash.

Words by Terri Kester / Images by Jeannine Govaers

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Open skies / MAY 2013

Tea Bar

At Tea Bar, customers are encouraged to smell and taste before they buy. The scent of more than 100 types of leaves fills every corner of this modern, airy place, where carefully composed gift packs and novel designs of tearelated products are also on display.

Not your cup of tea, because you have a taste for tradition? Then pop down the road to ‘t Zonnetje at nr. 45: it’s one big celebration of traditional coffee and tea.

Small World Catering

A cosmopolitan, often Englishspeaking crowd hangs out at Small World, around the corner from Haarlemmerdijk. This tiny deli, endorsed by Time Out and Lonely Planet, could just as easily have been in New York or Melbourne, where the owner hails from. The excellent home-made sandwiches and soups, meals and muffins can be taken out, but many customers stick around for a chat, especially when the sun shines and chairs are put on the pavement.

Sukha

www.teabar.nl Haarlemmerdijk 71 Tel: +31(0)20 6233211

smallworldcatering.nl Binnen Oranjestraat 14 Tel: +31(0)20 4202774

www.sukha-amsterdam.nl Haarlemmerstraat 110 Tel: +31(0)20 3304001

The reason why Sukha (‘joy of life’ in Sanskrit) styles itself ‘a modern department store’ is that everything in this airy space is for sale. From fashion to furniture, from the baskets on the floor to the mirrors on the wall, every item has been carefully sought out in countries such as India, Peru and Morocco, as well as locally. The lines of poetry on the window reflect the respect for products and people that permeates this special store.

Art Hotel Dulac

As a hotel, Dulac is a newcomer; as a bar and restaurant, it’s been here for many years. The uncompromisingly modern atmosphere of this four-star hotel, with just 22 rooms, starkly contrasts with the oldworld charm of the restaurant.

Original artworks grace each of the rooms, and natural fibres are used for all furnishings. Best of all: if you like walking or rent a bike, all of the city centre is within easy reach. www.arthoteldulac.nl Haarlemmerstraat 120 Tel: +31(0)20 3200220

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Open skies / MAY 2013

Jordino

Always wanted a Louis Vuitton handbag? At this exquisite patisserie, you can buy one made of marzipan. Such a bag could also make a good present for Mother’s Day: unless your mother would prefer chocolate stilettos, or some of the 90 scrumptious varieties of chocolates. The candy available at this 20-year-old family shop tastes as good as it looks, for it’s made from high-quality, preservative-free ingredients. Queues build up in summer, when the emphasis shifts to home-made ice-cream. www.jordino.nl Haarlemmerdijk 25a Tel: +31(0)20 4203225

The Movies

Few Amsterdammers have never trodden the art deco carpet of this 100-year-old landmark cinema at the top of the dyke. The atmosphere at the Movies, which features four screens showing both mainstream and arthouse films, is surprisingly intimate. Don’t forget to book for dinner at the Wild Kitchen restaurant on the same premises, particularly if you’d like to take advantage of the dinner-and-film combination ticket available on weekdays. www.themovies.nl Haarlemmerdijk 161-165 Tel: +31(0)20 6386016

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Open skies / MAY 2013

Schaak en Go Winkel Het Paard

A sign of a horse’s head points the way to Het Paard (‘the horse’), which specialises in chess-related merchandise. If you like your chess vertical, a magnetic board may be just the thing for you, while the collection of 5,000 chess books must be one of the biggest anywhere. Aficionados of go, bridge, backgammon and poker also find much of interest here. And if you have time to kill, a 32,000-piece jigsaw puzzle of Keith Haring paintings may solve your problem. www.schaakengo.nl Haarlemmerdijk 173 Tel: +31(0)20 6241171

skypod

Norwegian-Mexican experimental pop singer Carmen Villain reveals her favourite tracks

1.

Syd Barrett Late Night From my all-time favourite album, The Madcap Laughs. He made it after leaving Pink Floyd, and it’s perfect from start to finish – the lyrics, the textures, the wonderful sense of looseness.

2.

3.

Broadcast And The Focus Group The Be Colony From their experimental album Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio Age. Trish Keenan had one of the most beautiful vocals out there – so cold, but comforting at the same time.

39

4.

Grouper Vital

Kurt Vile Never Run Away

I’ve been listening to Liz Harris’ new album, The Man Who Died In His Boat, a lot. A beautiful, melancholic record, and this song is just stunning.

One of my all-time favourite songwriters – it’s hard to pick an album, let alone one song. This is from his latest release, Wakin’ On A Pretty Day. Awesome vocals and great taste.

Open skies / may 2013

5.

Kendrick Lamar ... Don’t Kill My Vibe M AY

I listened to a lot of hiphop in my teens back in Oslo. This is new, but it has that old-school sound to it that takes me right back to those days.

CALENDAR

6.

Maria Minerva Fire (featuring Chase Royal) One of my current favourite artists – she’s from Estonia, but lives in London. Lovely voice, fantastic beats, and fascinating lo-fi production.

7.

Peaking Lights Cosmic Tides I discovered Peaking Lights last summer, and have listened to them constantly since. Their album Lucifer has helped me through the cold, grey winter in London.

may 23 to 26

Art Basel – Hong Kong Hong Kong’s thriving art scene receives a boost this month as the world’s premier modern and contemporary art show, Art Basel, makes its debut in the region.

Replacing what was formerly known as the Hong Kong International Art Fair, the four-day event will exhibit works from 2,000 artists across 250 galleries, showcasing everything from paintings to sculptures; drawings to installations and a range of multimedia projects. The event will be located on its own artificial island in Victoria Harbour. hongkongartfair.com

Sri Lanka’s colourful capital page 52

Colombo

8.

Ariel Pink Mature Themes There is no one out there quite like Ariel Pink. His music is a combination of out-there weirdness and perfect pop – in my opinion it’s some of the best music written in recent times.

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rooM 602

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While most of Bali’s tourist spots, including Seminyak and Legian, have been gentrified by the arrival of cutting-edge boutiques, thriving beach clubs and coffee culture, the Bukit Pensinsula (in the country’s far south) remains relatively asperous. Anantara Bali Uluwatu Resort & Spa is a precariously perched testimony to luxury in an area still mostly populated by bare-backed Brazilian surfers on mopeds and the odd organic café. Built in to the soaring cliff tops above the aptly named Impossible Beach, ocean-front suite 602’s view stretches across the private infinity pool and out towards the limestone cliffs and wild waves of the Indian Ocean. A sheer cliff walk takes you down to Impossible and, in either direction, through ocean caves and rocky outcroppings along the Bukit coast. The hotel’s Rooftop Restaurant, Bar and Lounge draws a crowd of well-heeled locals as well as guests in residence, and a culinary highlight is the in-house Indonesian cooking classes. From the hotel, it’s an easy drive – via rural rice paddy farms and the occasional cow – to Bali’s famous Uluwatu temple. Dodge the cheeky monkeys on your way down to the natural rock amphitheatre to see the Ketcak show, a traditional Balinese dance and music drama performed nightly at sunset.

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consume

book

What We talk about When We talk about the tube John Lanchester

film

bRoken city Something is rotten in the Big Apple. Or at least that is what we can presume from this political thriller starring Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe.

Crowe plays the mayor of New York who hires a former cop turned private eye (Wahlberg, not exactly playing against type) to investigate his wife. As always, things are not as they seem, and soon Wahlberg is (predictably) sucked into a shady world of power, politics and violence. This won’t be winning any Oscars, but there are far worse ways to spend 109 minutes.

The Tube is 150 years old this year, and to celebrate, Penguin has released a series of 12 books – one for each of the network’s lines. One of the series’ most interesting books is John Lanchester’s contribution, What We Talk About When We Talk About The Tube. He takes the reader on a informative yet whimsical look at the Tube – part historical narrative, part first-person confessional. Lanchester’s writing – as evidenced in his previous books Whoops! and Capital – is always compelling, and he brings humour and a sharp eye to London’s transport behemoth.

album

Random access memoRies Daft Punk Disco dancers rejoice – Daft Punk are back. Yes, the fourth studio album (their first since 2005) from the reclusive French duo is here, and it does not disappoint. Expect their usual mix of twisted funk, electronic weirdness and house mash-ups, replete with guest appearances from the likes of Pharrell Williams (who sings on the record-breaking debut single Get Lucky). Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de HomemChristo have broken barriers since they burst onto the scene in the mid-1990s, and this album will be no different.

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our man in

Pinball Wizards

Pinball enthusiast Brittany Shoot discovers San Francisco’s thriving pinball culture and the tournament players ready to Images by Gene X Hwang welcome even novice players into the fold

W

hen I moved to San Francisco 18 months ago, I had no idea I’d landed in fierce pinball wizard territory. I grew up with two machines, a Bally Paragon and a Williams Pharaoh, in my Midwestern basement. Much like you never forget how to balance on a bicycle, my hands instinctively

know how to handle a wide-body, late-1970s pinball machine. But I hadn’t played a proper game in at least 15 years when I started competing in tournaments.

Per capita, San Francisco might have the highest concentration of high-ranking competitive players in the United States. Many of the men and women at local tournaments are within the top 100 players on the planet, according to rankings from the International Flipper Pinball Association. While the best SF players might test your mettle during competition, they’re also just as likely to offer pointers to beginners. If the

at the ready / Pinball is both a competitive and welcoming pursuit

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robust SF pinball scene surprised me, the warm welcome I received from my competitors was even more impressive.

My experience is far from abnormal, and I have a couple of theories about why this happens. For one, competition makes us all better. Moreover, a fledgling game like pinball can only survive based on collective demand. Players need competitors. Collectors need buyers. Welcoming fellow pinheads into the fold creates more opportunities for everyone — including a truly incredible array of bars and arcades where public practice is encouraged.

You can easily spend an entire day playing pinball in San Francisco. First stop: Musee Mecanique at Fisherman’s Wharf, an arcade filled with vintage mechanical games and carnival memorabilia. To beat the crush of giddy tourists that fill the bayside warehouse, I arrive right when the doors open. Dan Zelinsky, the second-generation owner, glides up on roller skates to greet me.

As a young boy, Dan’s father, Ed, started amassing a stockpile of coin-op orchestrions and antique slot machines. Zelinsky and his sons now maintain the collection, which is open to the public 365 days a year. “I think what’s fascinating to people is that you can interact with pinball,” he explains over the chorus of bling! bling! that fills the arcade. “Unlike a video game console, a pinball machine is something that you can participate with physically.”

I play a few rounds on an old Gottlieb Sing-A-Long before I head back into town. As I leave the waterfront, I swing into Boudin Bakery for one of its famous sourdough rolls. The chewy bun tides me over until I make it to Gestalt Haus in the laid-back, mural-covered Mission District. I pull up a seat at the bar and order a kielbasa, side of warm potato salad, and Delirium Tremens pale ale — but not before I play a game of Funhouse. Manager Ryan Blumenthal is a pinball enthusiast

city lights/ Pinball has seen a resurgence in San Francisco

and rumoured to be responsible for doesn’t offer any bar fare beyond the rapidly expanding collection of a basket of pretzels, but prides machines at the back. The line itself on being BYOF: bring your of players that wait patiently each own food. The burritos and fresh night for their turn to plunge the guacamole from nearby taqueria ball is proof that pinhead manager San Jalisco can’t be beaten. or not, Gestalt knows how to tap As we scoop salsa onto warm into the cultural zeitgeist and keep tortilla chips, Wagensonner local barflies satisfied. confides that just two days ago, Next, I head for Shotwell’s, a a nearby club notorious for its dimly lit cash-only Mission pub run-down machines brought in an that’s ostensibly one of the oldest Avatar. If we were casual players, bars in all of California.

In a nook that houses side-by-side Medieval Madness and Theater of Magic machines, I sidle According to ZZ Top, everybody’s crazy up to Eric Wagensonner, for a sharp-dressed man. With that in one of the administrators mind, here are some high-flying tailors of the Pinball Map that you should be following smartphone locator app (pinballmap.com).

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in the game / Pinball league night at Free Gold Watch in Haight Ashbury

we might care about a new Stern posturing hipster pastime game in the neighbourhood. But (if not both), there’s an ambitious we smirk at one another and shrug. undercurrent in everything we do.

There are too many places where But most San Franciscans are the machines won’t be sticky from also unusually welcoming and spilled beer or have burned-out helpful, embodying a mellow backboard lights. We won’t bother.

Californian vibe that takes the Between the Mission edge off our overly friendly and neighbouring Castro district, American tendencies. Pinball – part there are dozens of esoteric interest, bars with machines part practiceBetween tucked into an reliant skill, part alcove: Doc’s friendly rivalry, part mission Clock, Kilowatt, collective pursuit and castro Molotov’s, and – is an organic Lucky 13, to name convergence of district are a few. Spending core San Francisco dozens of several hours values. moseying between It’s league night, Bars with them all doesn’t so Wagensonner pinBall feel retrograde and I make our way so much as the through the fog to epitome of San Free Gold Watch, Francisco’s unique a screen-printing blend of laid-back and design shop in attitude and competitive edge. In a the Haight that has ten machines town where everyone has an idea and counting. There are a number for the next big tech start-up or a of pinball clubs in Northern

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California that host regular practice nights, but long-time player Per Schwarzenberger only recently founded the first San Franciscospecific league, hoping to encourage more regular matches in the city.

As Wagensonner and I approach the door to the cavernous store, we hear the thunk-thunk-thunk of pop bumpers and spot our pal Andrei Massenkoff, a true wizard of the sport and the 2011 Professional and Amateur Pinball Association World Champion. The SF native is bent over White Water, a machine with a leaderboard that (like most in the shop) bears his initials. He glances up and beckons me to watch him hip-check the machine. “Do you know how to release multiball on this one?” he asks, gently bumping the console. He might be one of the best players in the world, but he’s also just a regular guy who eagerly offers tips to his friends. I watch until his final ball drains. Game over. He steps aside and gestures chivalrously. It’s my turn now.

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BLD D

Jade George, co-founder and editorial director of The Carton food magazine, shares her favourite places to eat out in Beirut B

B

Breakfast Mikhael Laiterie. It’s where the dairy-savvy Beirutis go to pick up fresh laban for their yoghurt-based dishes like kibbe, stuffed zucchini and vine leaves, and sheesh barak.

Mikhael is an institution unknown to many, yet popular among its old regulars. The setting is a little on the dingy side but you’ll cosy up in the first five minutes you’re in there.

Although known for its outstanding yoghurt, Mikhael is the king of traditional Lebanese breakfast, whether it’s eggs baked in a clay pot, homemade jams, labneh or savoury pastries. Ask for the eggs with awarma – a sort of meat confit – and make sure to leave with enough jarred goods (and yoghurt) in hand.

Monot Street, Monot, Beirut Tel: +961 (1) 327226

People do not associate Lebanon with Japanese cuisine, but that’s because Maki is yet to be discovered.

Lebanese founder Mohamed ‘Oliver’ Zeitoun resides in Kuwait, where he launched the first Maki outlet. Patrons in Kuwait City line up outside asking for cones of fusion temakis to gobble down in their cars when all three outlets in the city are fully booked. Zeitoun’s father is an olive oil enthusiast and makes it in limited batches in the South of Lebanon, which Oliver then snatches for his restaurants. Maki’s cuisine is Japanese fusion, and they source some of their produce from the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture to get their hands on ingredients that make all the difference to their offering. Maki has some killer cuts of raw fish. I secretly wish that Maki could remain my private sanctuary, but it would be a crime for a place like this to shut down.

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Lunch Beirut’s food scene is never brought up without mention of Souk El Tayeb – an organisation that supports Lebanese producers and farmers, and runs a number of restaurants and farmers’ markets. Souk El Tayeb’s restaurant Tawlet is a canteen-like venue on the uberboho side of town. No matter the day (except Sunday, when they’re closed), this hidden gem is always bustling with an interesting mix of clientele. As for the grub, Tawlet – which means ‘table’ in Arabic – is an all-you-can-eat affair offering everything from hot and cold dishes to dessert, arak and homemade lemonade.

The producer’s buffet hosts a different cook every day. Be it a housewife introducing the traditional food of her village, a farmer demonstrating what can be made from his organic produce or a professional chef experimenting, you’re always bound to leave with a huge smile on your face.

Tawlet Chalhoub Building, Sector 79, 12 Naher Street, Jisr El Hadeed, Mar Mikhael, Beirut Tel: +961 (1) 448129 soukeltayeb.com

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Dinner

Beirut Homes Bldg.

Habib Basha El Saad Road, Sodeco, Ashrafieh.

Tel: +961 (1) 426222. olivermaki.com

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mapped Bloumendhal

Colombo Harbour

Orugodawatta

Jinthupitiya Fort 06

SEDAWATTA

Maligawatta

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SINGHAPURA

Welikada

10 07 04

Kollupitiya

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Kurunduwatta

Welikada North

Bambalapitive 05

Nawala

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Narahenpita 02

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Colombo Hotels 1. Tintagel Colombo 6.914638 79.869581

Restaurants 5. The Gallery Café 6.898550 79.855246

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Bars/Clubs 9. The Brewery by O 6.933263 79.844275

Galleries 13. Saskia Fernando Gallery 6.912499 79.854155

Awash with vibrant colours, surging crowds and a sun-drenched steamy climate, Colombo holds some 2. Casa Colombo 6. Ministry of Crab 10. Skky Bar 14. Barefoot Gallery Colombo pretty calling cards. But this buzzing, upbeat city boasts much more than balmy6.874899 weather and 6.874899powerful 79.861114 6.933263 79.844275 6.921499 79.847681 79.861114 a beachside location. In Sri Lanka’s cultural (and literal) capital, contemporary galleries continue to pop 3. The Havelock Bungalow Nihonbashi 11. The Loft 15. Colombo National Museum up6.885588 all over the city, along with a7.6.920064 dizzying array of gourmet restaurants, trendy rooftop bars and stylish 79.866111 79.848028 6.897625 79.855550 6.910731 79.861533 late-night hangouts. Spice-filled food stalls line the pavements, whilst bustling markets provide the 12. Qbaa 16. National Art Gallery 4. Park Street Hotel The Mango Tree perfect opportunity to put your8.6.912499 bartering skills to the test and perhaps bring home a treasure or two.

6.917467 79.858482 79.854155 6.887920 79.862123 6.914502 79.864599 www.Hg2.com

HOTELS

rESTauranTS

BarS / CLuBS

GaLLErIES

01. Tintagel Colombo 02. Casa Colombo 03. The Havelock Place Bungalow 04. Park Street Hotel

05. The Gallery Café 06. Ministry of Crab 07. nihonbashi 08. Mango Tree

09. The Brewery by O 10. Skky Bar 11. The Loft 12. Qbaa

13. Saskia Fernando Gallery 14. Barefoot Gallery Colombo 15. Colombo national Museum 16. national art Gallery

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HOTELS 01 Tintagel Colombo With just ten rooms on offer, Tintagel makes the ideal intimate refuge from Colombo’s noisy city streets. Several past prime ministers have lived here, but it now houses sumptuous suites, a swanky dining room and a low-lit indoor pool.

02 Casa Colombo With its ornate entryways, colourful lighting and individually designed rooms, Casa Colombo is steeped in opulence and eccentricity.

At the hotel recently named best designer boutique hotel in the world, each and every feature has been finished to perfection.

03 The Havelock Place Bungalow Hidden down a verdant side street in the middle of downtown Colombo, the Havelock does urban retreat

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08

incredibly well. In the hotel, housed in a restored colonial building with an idyllic garden setting, it’s hard to believe you’re just moments from the city centre.

04 Park Street Hotel Park Street Hotel pays homage to bygone eras with its colonial architecture, carved wooden doors and extensive collection of paintings. Many of the deluxe rooms here feature high-vaulted ceilings and come with fantastic views out over the gardens.

rESTauranTS

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The Gallery Café Situated at the Paradise Road Hotel, this restaurant-cum-gallery is housed in the former residences of famed Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa. Diners can sample authentic Sri Lankan flavours along with menu staples such as black pork curry and jaggery crème brûlée.

06 Ministry of Crab Located in an old Dutch hospital, Ministry of Crab seeks to celebrate Sri Lanka’s bountiful seas with an entire menu dedicated to whole crabs. Diners are encouraged to get their hands dirty and sample an assortment of different spicings and flavourings.

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07 Nihonbashi With a menu inspired by its founder’s dual heritage, Nihonbashi unites Sri Lankan and Japanese cuisine. Its flagship location features dishes like karapincha tempura, which balance the delicacy of Japanese fare with Sri Lanka’s superb native ingredients.

08 Mango Tree Mango Tree combines the flavours of north Indian cooking with Sri Lankan ingredients in sweet-and-spicy harmony. Dishes like fried cuttlefish and curried paneer, corn and green chillies balance robust flavours, fresh produce and plenty of heat.

GallErIEs 13 Saskia Fernando Gallery Sri Lanka’s contemporary arts scene is rich but under-profiled, and the Saskia Fernando Gallery is working to change this. Visitors to Colombo can stop by every day to see pieces by noteworthy local artists, including painter Ruwan Prasanna and sculptor Prageeth Manohansa.

14 Barefoot Gallery Colombo This multi-disciplinary space is an ideal spot for a quick dip into Sri Lanka’s dynamic arts community. The gallery plays host to exhibitions, concerts, poetry readings, film nights and plays, and also has a café to help weary culture vultures refuel.

13 ArTiSTiC MeriT / The Saskia Fernando Gallery showcases contemporary art

09 The Brewery by O A perennial hotspot in Colombo’s bar scene, The Brewery by O is housed in the old Dutch hospital.

Serving a great selection of beer and cocktails, this is where Colombo’s hipster crowd come to party.

11 The Loft Home to some of Colombo’s best cocktails, The Loft is kitted out in trendy industrial furnishings, with bar stools fashioned from old tractor seats.

The bar’s signature cocktails, like the mint julep and the fruity matador, go down a treat.

10 Skky Bar Rooftop bars are a staple of sultry Colombo evenings out, and Skky Bar might just be the city’s most stylish open-air venue.

A menu of highbrow cocktails and light Japanese fare is somehow even tastier when offset against panoramic cityscapes.

12 Qbaa Colombo’s small wine-bar scene has a fantastic new addition in Qbaa, which stocks an impressive bottle list and dishes out fusion cuisine ranging from baked crab to succulent steaks. Live music and a rooftop dining area set the scene for late-night lounging.

bars / clubs

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15 Colombo National Museum Established back in 1877, the Colombo National Museum is housed in a stunning neoclassical building that is itself worthy of a visit. Sri Lanka’s largest museum, the Colombo National Museum displays historic paintings and artefacts from the country’s long history.

16 National Art Gallery Conveniently adjacent to the National Museum, the National Art Gallery comprises of three primary exhibition spaces – a permanent collection of portraits and landscapes from Sri Lanka’s past, and two wings showcasing the best of the country’s up-and-coming contemporary art scene.

LOCAL KNOwLEDGE

words by Tahira yaqoob / images by farooq salik

Park Life

ThirTy-eighT years afTer iT was builT on The decaying safa ciTy, safa park is an oasis of calm in The middle of a busy meTropolis

T

hink of any major city in the world and you can usually conjure up an iconic park associated with it. From Central Park in New York to Hyde Park in London and Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, there is almost always an urban, green oasis synonymous with the metropolis it is based in. They are attractions in their own right as well as a retreat from the chaos of city life.

As Dubai’s urban sprawl has rocketed exponentially, Safa Park has increasingly become that heartbeat, a vital greenbelt giving those who live and work in the city different air to breathe.

When the park was created in 1975, it was only ever intended to

be one of many public spaces in the fledgling United Arab Emirates, founded four years earlier. Then on the fringes of Dubai, it was supposed to clean up an eyesore, a sandpit, which had become home to the makeshift dwellings of south Asian immigrants. Surrounded by desert, with a couple of standpipes and no electricity or sewage facilities, Safa City was unkempt, unsanitary and in dire need of regeneration.

Dubai Municipality moved the immigrants to other parts of the city, demolished the makeshift plywood village and began sowing the seeds of the park in place today. Almost as old as the country it is in, which has expanded to absorb it as it spreads.

Once on the outskirts, its rolling green lawns now lie on Al Wasl

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Road at the very centre of Dubai.

Looking at the changes on the horizon as well as inside the park is like holding up a looking glass to Dubai’s astonishing, accelerated development.

Pictures from the 1970s show the park’s canopy surrounded by barren wasteland, with only the now-defunct Metropolitan Hotel looming out of the dusty haze on the landscape and little else in view other than the old Abu Dhabi–Dubai road.

Fast forward to 2013, and the horizon visible from the verdant bougainvillea-filled park shows skyscrapers jostling for space, overshadowed by the gleaming pinnacle of the Burj Khalifa, as Dubai reaches ever skywards.

No city can keep up a frenetic pace without pausing to catch its breath. As the American Planning Association says, parks “act to define the shape and feel of a city.

They function as a conscious tool for revitalisation, can stem the downturn of a commercial area… and provide a landmark element and a point of pride.”

So while Dubai’s dizzying heights can be seen from every spot in the park, reminding visitors of the world of commerce lying beyond, life slows to a leisurely crawl within the boundaries of the park’s 64-hectare site.

Visit Safa Park on any morning, and even before the working day has begun and you will find that its running track is bustling with joggers, yoga and pilates classes are being held in shaded nooks, and its restaurants are filling with those seeking their first caffeine hit, with visitors representing a slice of multicultural Dubai.

For a three-dirham entrance fee, there are picnic areas, barbecue stations and children’s playgrounds with a Ferris wheel and miniature train track. Alongside them sit three lakes with pedalos for hire, fountains, waterfalls and forestry with thousands of varieties of trees and bushes, from date palms to acacias and Washingtonia robustas,

Literary Life / Sarah Malki, The Archive’s librarian and programme manager

providing homes for the 200-plus species of birds dwelling there, including Alexandrine parakeets, red-vented bulbuls and terek sandpipers. There are even iguanas who have made the park their home and can be seen basking on the lush grass in the sun.

And more recently, there have been bustling markets, concerts in the amphitheatre zand the newest addition, a treasure trove of Middle Eastern history and art books in a library which doubles as a community centre, with a coffee shop, workshops and exercise classes. The Archive,

Almost As old As the country it is in, sAfA PArk hAs GroWn to mirror the GroWth thAt of the city, Which hAs exPAnded to Absorb it As it sPreAds opened in November last year by Ahmed and Rashid bin Shabib, the owners of Brownbook magazine, is the most recent development in the park and gives a new lease of life to a site traditionally favoured by parents and keep-fit enthusiasts.

Echoing the ambience of the Shabib brothers’ other venues, The Pavilion in Downtown Dubai and The Shelter in Al Quoz, it lends a rarefied air for freelancers and entrepreneurs looking to work in a relaxed environment, with floor-to-ceiling windows allowing sunlight to stream in and offering tranquil views. At weekends, it is

water worLd / Boat rides are on offer for the more adventurous visitors

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out and about / Mahmood Qaiser, Alexander McNabb and Dru Campbell enjoying the park’s facilities

packed with families enjoying a day out or painting at a pop-up studio on its terrace.

British public relations firm director Alexander McNabb, 48, is a regular and loves working there on his laptop as well as holding publishing workshops.

“There is a whole group of people here who all know one another,” he says. “It is great for self-employed people. I like the park best early in the morning before the day begins, when people are walking their dogs or running – it is just teeming with life and a lovely way to start the day.”

Sarah Malki, 26, the LebaneseSyrian librarian and programme manager at The Archive, says it is an appealing workspace because, “It gives the impression of being outdoors and lets in lots of light.”

She adds: “Because it is in a public park, it is accessible to everyone.”

Pakistani-born milliner Naz Nejmi, 32, spends nearly an hour jogging around the outskirts of the park.

“I much prefer it to the gym, because I am out in the open air,” she says. “I have been coming to Safa Park for most of my life.

Sometimes at the weekend I come for barbecues with friends.

It is a lovely way to spend a day, but I do not think there is a park culture here yet among young people, like there is in New York or in London.”

German Melanie Beese, whose monthly flea markets near gate 5 attract thousands of bargainhungry shoppers arriving as early as 8am, says that is changing.

“People love it because it is not all about the shopping.

It is a social community event where you can walk around and everyone is friendly. The atmosphere is amazing, and people often bring a picnic. It is great to have this facility.”

Last summer, three South American friends based in Dubai, and headed by Peruvian Lilian Velasquez, began organising cultural night markets in the park to give a platform to amateur and professional artists, performers and craft makers.

Velasquez says she chose the park because, “In Dubai we do not have a place where people can showcase their talent.”

For others, Safa Park is simply part of the fabric of the memories

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expatriates form as they go about their everyday lives.

Australian midwife Dru Campbell, 39, remembers holding a picnic on the grass to celebrate her son Ryan’s first birthday.

Now three, he loves tearing around the playground, while his mother finds it “tranquil and green and safe”.

Lebanese advertising executive Lina Hajo, 29, has brought visiting family members to the park, giving the youngsters a chance to explore the playground and chase seagulls.

“Sometimes, at the weekend, we bring our breakfast,” she says.

“It is great for children, and I love the smell of freshly-cut grass and greenery. You do not feel like you are in a city.”

For Pakistani radio station administrator Mahmood Qaiser, 30, his daily walks around the park’s perimeter are a time for quiet reflection and an escape from the hustle and bustle of the workplace.

“I can breathe fresh air and enjoy the trees,” he says. “I love the fact it is so relaxed, and people are always friendly. I feel very comfortable here. It is a little oasis of calm in the centre of the city.”

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place

EMP Museum / Seattle one of the most interesting museums in north america, the EmP museum is dedicated to music, pop culture and science fiction. Designed by Frank Gehry and founded by microsoft co-founder Paul allen, the museum has hosted exhibitions dedicated to everyone from the muppets creator Jim henson to rock legend Jimi hendrix.

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COLUMN

RISE OF THE INDIE MAG Ink on paper – dead, right? Wrong. A glut of intelligent and engaging independent titles is keeping the printing presses busy Words by Dan Rowden / Illustration by Roui Francisco

Y

ou may have heard many times recently that print is dying. And with a group of (previously) big-money publications closing their print offerings and going digital, you may think that it is time to say goodbye to our dear old friend.

But you’d be wrong. We have entered an age of intelligent, im-

mersive – and quite frankly, awesome – independent magazines, although you’d be forgiven if you hadn’t noticed. The big names may be feeling the economic downturn, shutting off their printing presses and being written about in the world’s media, but the “underground” world of indie magazines is growing – and the

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output is quality and engaging.

Titles like Offscreen, Kinfolk, Apartamento, Little White Lies and The Smith Journal are examples of popular independent magazines with large followings (from all over the world – this is not a localised phenomenon), which sell thousands of copies of each issue. In fact, most of their

issues completely sell out. These titles are just a tiny selection of this ever-expanding segment of publishing, created by individuals or small editorial teams who somehow produce amazing print magazines on tight budgets.

There’s a new energy and verve in magazines, and it’s these independents who are driving the industry forward, constantly pushing quality and innovation levels. The established dinosaurs of this new world are adapting to stay in touch – some successfully, some not.

If you look just behind the covers of indie mags (don’t worry, you won’t have to look too far as there are not many ads in these magazines) at their mastheads, you will see teams of two, five, ten.

How do such small teams produce such great magazines? The answer is simple and concise, and here’s the kicker: the digital world of the internet.

As with other analogue industries like music and photography, forced into change during what we like to call the “digital revolution”, publishing is now cool and niche, and being pushed ever forward by passionate youth with new ideas.

Without the internet, this print revolution would likely never have happened (admittedly, it’s the internet itself that has brought on the apparent print downturn).

It’s the power of two of the net’s great features that has enabled a new breed of independent publishers: free knowledge and self-promotion. Without sounding like it’s not very difficult to create a magazine—and I’m exaggerating a bit to make my point, but nowadays, if you can use Google, you can start a magazine. Watch

as a marketing tool as it is today, a few InDesign tutorials, read up and the publishers who have capabout typesetting, research stock italised on it are the ones reaping and printing methods, and you’re the benefits. ready to publish.

It’s not just purely about the Thankfully, even with this easily-accessible information available printed product anymore, either. to anyone who wants it, the quality Some publishers are turning to digital and online reading platforms of independent magazines is to promote their purely print mostly incredibly high. This is beproducts. Releasing a teaser (or cause content rules supreme, and even the full issue in some cases) production values are definitely as a digital preview drives readnot an afterthought. Passion for ers to buy, or at least seek out, print is another required ingredient, and this clan of self-publishers the print copies. There are also multiple cover blogs, like Coveris overflowing with the stuff. junkie or Magazine Wall, where It costs a lot of money to impressive amounts of covers are print 5,000 copies of your first uploaded monthly, and thousands issue, and to get to the second of magazine fans are posting their issue you will need to sell a large favourite covers to image-cataproportion of those boxes sitting loguing sites like Pinterest. This in your living room. This will is fuelling interest come down to two in obscure titles, things: producing a we have best-sellers and magazine that will entered student projects sell, and being able to alike. Print is sell it. an age of thriving online, This is where the intelligent, and publishers second great feature of who don’t take the internet comes in immersive are, handy: self-promotion. independent advantage quite frankly, fools.

Social media is a magazines So, when brilliant and increasyou next think ingly accessible tool, about starting a and clever publishers magazine, just look use it daily to make around (online). sure they are getting There are plenty of people who their magazines out of their living rooms and into readers’ hands. Can have been in your position, used the internet to their advantage you imagine what it would have (both to learn and gain exposure) taken just 20 years ago to produce and created a printed product something in, say, Australia, and that thousands now have on their get it noticed and bought by thoubookshelves around the world. sands around the word? Today, someone armed with just an image Put down your magazine, log on, and exploit the information and of their magazine’s cover can post platforms that the internet offers. it instantly across multiple online Everything’s possible. platforms, gaining views, website And don’t worry. Print’s not visits and hopefully purchases going anywhere just yet. with little effort. The internet has Dan Rowden runs magpile.com never been used more successfully

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store

The Clove Club Words by Tom Cullen / Images by Petra Costandi

T

here are two kinds of people in London. There are those that have eaten at The Clove Club, and those that want to.

Named after the supper club that front-of-house team Daniel Willis and Johnny Smith previously operated out of their Dalston flat, The Clove Club’s new permanent home is inside the stunning Grade II listed Shoreditch Town Hall, East London.

Built in 1865, the Town Hall was for more than 100 years one of the grandest vestry halls in the city.

Having ceased to be the base for local government during the 1960s, it is now a popular arts and events space, run by Shoreditch Town Hall Trust. But more than that, it is home to the city’s most anticipated restaurant launch of 2013.

The story behind the birth of The Clove Club, which opened on March 4, is a delightful one.

Daniel and Johnny attended the same nursery at the age of four and grew up together. “We both worked in kitchens,” says Daniel.

“Johnny at Pizza Express, aged 19,

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and me at the first Living Room in Manchester, aged 21. Post uni we both started working in a restaurant in Manchester called Croma, then we moved to London in 2008.”

Shortly after that they met Isaac McHale at a boat party, in Croatia.

Funny how meetings can change people’s entire professional lives.

Chef McHale had been trained

by Tom Aikens, and spent six years working with Brett Graham at the Michelin-starred Notting Hill restaurant, The Ledbury. It doesn’t end there. His CV includes work

Curated bites / The Clove team ask their diners to trust them with the menu, and they will do the rest

at Marque in Sydney, Momofuku Sam Bar in New York and Noma in Copenhagen, named World’s Best Restaurant in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

The three of them set up the first incarnation of The Clove Club.

“It was in Dan and Johnny’s flat, in Dalston,” recalls Isaac. “We did pheasant with pumpkin and some slow-cooked duck eggs with bacon, cabbage and chestnut. It went down very well.”

They hosted three nights in that flat. All three sold out. All three received superb reviews. “We did a

few more. One with Penhaligon’s.

One in a disused office in Canary Wharf. People seemed to like it.”

That’s an understatement.

People were clamouring to eat their food. Hopeful diners followed Twitter accounts to find out where they’d be cooking next, so that they could lay their hands on the muchsought-after tickets. This energy, this excitement, this intensely loyal following would be crucial to the launch of the restaurant.

“Then we opened at the Ten Bells,” says McHale. Isaac, fellow

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chef James Lowe, Daniel and Johnny were given a temporary three-month residency to bring sophisticated, tasty food to the East London pub, which happened to have been patronised by many of Jack The Ripper’s victims. Chefs, like Jack before them, made a killing, and were asked to stay for good.

“Then things went a little crazy,” says Isaac. “James and I travelled the world in 2012, appearing at food symposiums and festivals. Daniel and Johnny stayed at home and looked after the Ten Bells. Now

James is off looking for his own place and we three [Isaac, Daniel and Johnny] are finally opening our own restaurant. The restaurant of our dreams.”

The next question was financing. “We didn’t want to go to one big investor,” says Isaac, “someone who might want a huge say in how we did things, how it would look. And we knew that people were excited by our food, so we crowdfunded.”

So great was the enthusiasm for their food that die-hard diners invested in them. Friends and family bought into it, sure, but people they had never met were convinced by their food to pay for them to find a venue and start their own restaurant. “Banks weren’t lending. People wanted to be involved, and that way it could be our little project.”

There was no ‘little’ about it.

A red, green and gold interior was

ripped out and replaced with a simple, classic design.

In the bar area, tabletops are made from reclaimed Georgian timber, while original boxing-spectator chairs from the assembly hall’s past life make up the seating.

Bar food includes a choice of seasonal plates and larger dishes designed to be shared. Pick of the bunch is Isaac’s now legendary buttermilk fried chicken and pine salt.

Wander through to the restaurant area and you’re in McHale’s territory. Quite literally.

If the kitchen were any more open, you’d be manning the meat station.

Beneath the high ceiling, cooks conjure The Clove Club’s smart dishes. Ogleshield puffs, spinach and clams with sunflower seeds and mint, snails and parsley and roast rib of Hereford beef with wild garlic aioli.

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But the deal-breaker here is that you don’t choose your dishes, just as you couldn’t when The Clove Club was a supper club. For US$70 you are served whatever McHale wants to give you – three starters to share, followed by six tasting-sized dishes. And it really could be anything.

Is it arrogant to assume you know what your diners want?

“Not a bit,” says Isaac. “They were doing it this way at Chez Panisse in California years ago. It’s nothing new. No, there’s no arrogance. If we’ve found the best beef butcher in the UK, somewhere in Cornwall, then we want people to experience that. Imagine if they didn’t order it? Doing it this way means we can put all our energy into our dishes.

“We can make sure they are as wonderful as they can be.

“Besides’, he says with a chuckle, you can order off a menu in the bar if you don’t trust me.”

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famILy

POLITICS

A mother on her travels around the world with her son

Secret Island A photographic journey through the enchanted island of Socotra

(p90) Open skies / MAY 2013

A profile of Beppe Grillo, Italy’s new joker king

PROFILE

HAVE BOY, WILL TRAVEL

For many, an extended trip around the world is a daunting prospect.

Yet, as Theodora Sutcliffe explains, bringing her young son Zac along for the ride was the best decision she has ever made

W

hen my son and I left London in January 2010, I had no idea that we would still be travelling the world now. I had planned for a year-long round-theworld trip. Because, of course, you can see the world in a year, right?

Since then, we’ve walked to Everest Base Camp, trekked deep into the jungle to meet nomadic hunter-gatherers, dived an undersea volcano, seen the sun rise over Uluru, soared in a hot-air balloon over Cappadocia, goggled at the Harbin ice sculptures and sung the Indiana Jones theme tune inside a deserted pyramid.

We’ve slept in hammocks, in bamboo shelters, on beaches, in tents in the snow, and at over 5,000m above sea level and 377m below it. We’ve experienced temperatures well over 40°C and below -30°C, travelled on camels, motorbikes, horses, tuk-tuks, tricycles, jeeps and more, and awoken on the roof of a boat to dolphins leaping against the sunrise.

Zac spent his 12th birthday paragliding in Nepal, his 11th at a theme park in Beijing and his 10th ice-skating in his father’s home town, Brisbane. He’s driven

a pickup truck, skated on a glacier lake, walked on the Great Wall Of China, climbed on the ruins of Angkor Wat, seen the Parthenon, the Blue Mosque and Petra, sampled foods from dragonflies to buffalo skin and petted animals from kangaroos to elephants.

We live with extremely little: typically one bag each. When something wears out or becomes climate-inappropriate, we trade it in for something new.

And, to be honest, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Well, maybe I would change a few things.

Zac would be the first to tell you that planning is really not my strong suit, and visa mishaps have been the bane of our lives. That and anything that involves parallel parking, or geography. Yes, despite travelling the world for more than three years, I remain unequipped with any sense of direction and still can’t reliably tell left from right. When we were road tripping in Lebanon, it was Zac, my map-reader, who had to point out that the reason the motorway had come to a sudden stop was that it was still under construction.

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Zac and I had talked about doing a big trip since we went on holiday to Mexico when he was a toddler.

We had a wonderful time sleeping in beach huts, chasing iguanas and blue land crabs, climbing Mayan pyramids and giggling at monkeys.

I’d enjoyed his company so much that I wanted to do a big trip with him when he was old enough to both enjoy it and remember it.

So when, after the year from hell in 2009, I decided to take the jump and actually do this, family and friends were, well, very cool, to be honest.

My mother is now an eminently respectable retired headmistress, but she and my father had travelled overland to Afghanistan during the 1960s, and as I’d travelled in Mauritania, Mali and elsewhere during my university holidays, they were hardly going to have a fit of the vapours about me riding a motorbike to Timor Leste with their grandson on the back.

Zac’s father was also on board with the idea, particularly since Skype enables him to keep in regular contact with his son. He came out to see us once in the first year and we spent Christmas together in Australia that year. Last year we flew Zac Bali-Australia-Bali and

Beirut-London-Cairo, so they had time together in England, France and Oz. One friend, who had done a six-month round-the-world trip, did explain how very exhausting fast travel can be – she once slept in a different place each night for eight nights solid, with journeys and sightseeing every day. That, in fact, is one of many reasons that we now travel more slowly, sometimes taking houses or apartments for stops of a month or several, and alternating that with periods of fast travel, typically overland.

We spent a lot more time in Dahab, Egypt, than we’d originally intended to last year, because it’s a delightful little town, the desert and the diving are wonderful, the kittens are adorable, Zac has friends there and he can ride a bike around town and, well, why be in a hurry to move on?

On longer stops, where we’ll rent a house or an apartment, we can absorb more of the culture of a place, make meaningful friendships and enjoy downtime. I’ll have a kitchen to make my own coffee in the morning, we can cook our own food and I won’t have to think about when to do laundry. We’ll have our local shop that we wander

to, our local restaurants that we eat at – we become a bit more a part of a community. And, of course, we both have more personal space than we would while, say, sleeping in a tent.

Although I barely worked for our first year abroad – I have a blog, EscapeArtistes.com, which I’ve maintained since we set off – I now work as a freelance writer. I’m old enough

We slept in beach huts, chased iguanas and blue crabs, climbed mayan pyramids and giggled at monkeys to remember not only my first email but also my first computer, and I can’t emphasise enough how much the internet has transformed the world. I know quite a few travelling families where one or both parents work online, be that in web design, coding, marketing, tutoring, graphic design, translation or medical transcription.

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It’s an alternative lifestyle, certainly, but the stereotype of cornrow-braided hippies with grubby, feral children really does not necessarily apply, if it ever did.

There is a lot of freedom in this lifestyle, and a lot of variety.

We can go from skiing in northern China to trekking in the Himalayas or diving from a liveaboard, and the day’s rhythm will be different. Depending on where we are, we might breakfast on bacon and eggs, on roti and dhal, on rice and pickled vegetables, on yoghurt and honey, on noodle soup, on ful – the list is endless. And, no, Zac has never been a picky eater. And, yes, we do have innards of steel.

By far the most common question I get asked in non-Western cultures is: “Where is your husband?”

Mercifully, I’m thick-skinned enough not to mind that the response is often pity. It is unusual to be a mother and child travelling solo, but, with very few exceptions – our situation opens up areas of society that might otherwise be closed.

In fact, one of the great joys of world travel, particularly coming from a child-unfriendly Anglo culture, is how very welcoming

TRAVEL TIPS /

CHINA Even in Beijing and Shanghai, let alone in less touristic cities, fairly few taxi drivers speak English. Carry a card from your hotel with the Chinese address and get a local SIM card for your phone so you can text yourself the Chinese address of where you’re visiting, or ring the place and hand the cab driver your phone. Google Maps and Apple Maps are almost equally useless in China, and Baidu maps are only available in Chinese.

Carry a guidebook or a print map. Trains, whether sleeper or bullet, are a great way to explore China, though you need to book a day or two ahead.

In big cities, there’ll always be someone at the station or booking office who speaks English: hotels can also book tickets for you. Don’t even think about travelling during Chinese national holidays.

people are to a mother travelling with a child.

Other travellers accept us, and we also meet other travelling families, both organically and through a ne work of connections we’ve formed with other long-term travellers on and offline.

One obvious question I get asked a lot, typically by people who haven’t met Zac, is what we do about his education.

Somewhat to my surprise, the first response from Zac’s then-headmaster when I said that I wanted to take him out for a year’s travelling was, “Well, that’s fantastic! He’ll learn much more doing that than he would do here, but do keep up the Maths and English.” And this is, basically, what we’ve done. We loosely use a philosophy I call “world-schooling”, and we remain technically within the UK home-schooling framework.

That means Zac leads his own learning, which derives from what’s around him, although we agreed at the get-go

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One of the great joys of travel is just how welcoming people are to a mother with a young child in tow that he did have to do some maths and writing, and now his writing has to be in a range of genres.

He’s visited science museums everywhere from Kuala Lumpur to Istanbul, made silver jewellery in Bali and thrown pottery in Cairo, and when he wanted to learn physics, I found him an online tutor. Diving coral reefs provides an amazing insight into ecosystems, as does helping out at a turtle sanctuary and exploring rainforests; he’s learned about geology in Australia and the Sinai; and he’s witnessed the effects of climate change writ very large in the Himalayas. He’s spent time in Greece, Turkey, Lebanon,

snapshots / Zac in Sinai, on the Great Wall of China, and with mum Theodora on a boat ride in Borneo

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CEntral pErk / Zac inside one of the pyramids in Egypt

Jordan, Palestine and Egypt, so he I do wonder how this lifestyle will knows about some of the ancient cul- shape the man Zac will become. Whenever tures in that region, both the ones he’d I meet people who travelled long-term learn about in school in Britain and as children, or who moved country freothers that he wouldn’t, and the com- quently because of their parents’ careers, mon roots of the three main monothe- I ask them how their childhood has afist religions. fected their abilities to form friendships But the most important element that and relationships: so far, I haven’t met one long-term travel brings is person who has regretted his global perspective on it, though, admittedly, it’s current affairs. He can The most hardly an unbiased sample. see World War II, which important Zac has been back to for the typical British England twice since we left, child is a gallant British element that and the connections with battle against Hitler that his old friends seem to still long-term started in 1939, in the be there. He has made new context of competition travel brings friends as we travel, keeps in the Pacific, the end of up with some of them onmultiple European em- is a global line, and makes an effort to pires (not only the Brit- perspective on meet up with others when ish), and the rise of nait’s possible. His approach tions, as well as from the current affairs to these friendships doesn’t, British perspective. in fact, seem that different That said, we’re not averse to conven- to many adults who travel or live overtional schooling. Zac agreed that a term seas. He seems to be able to pick up the in a Chinese school would improve his connections and interact naturally as Chinese, which he has been learning for though no time has passed, though this more than a year, and, though learning may change in the teen years. even to speak – let alone read and write Skype is a godsend for us. He can play – Chinese well is a lifetime project, he’s computer games online with friends all currently in school in Harbin, China. around the world, all engaged in solemn Which, as you can perhaps imagine, discussions about which Creeper to slay is also helping with his maths. from their different time zones.

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Egypt If you’re doing a Nile cruise, opt for a felucca, the traditional sailing boats, or the paddle steamer Sudan, rather than a big cruise boat or a dahabiyya.

Dahabiyyas are supposedly sailing boats, but in practice they almost always use their noisy, dirty diesel engines.

Feluccas are basic, with absolutely no facilities, but you can stop where you want and create your own adventure; the Sudan is the boat on which Agatha Christie travelled the Nile. Aswan and Abu Simbel are much more Zen than Luxor, while at Dahshur, as opposed to Giza, you can climb inside a pyramid and have it completely to yourself. It should go without saying that as a woman you should dress conservatively while on the streets: if you’re a single parent, it’s probably worth wearing a wedding ring.

LIFe sIZed / Zac about to tuck into some Turkish ice cream

The experience of long-term travel with child British families. One example? For a child is in many ways richer than that of this school project, we discussed what travelling solo or with another adult. bedtime and getting up time would enI’ll actively seek out activities, from able him to be well rested, get everything white water rafting, ziplining and zorb- done, and get some downtime. He settled ing to theme parks, spice gardens, bird on a 9.30pm bedtime and 5.40am wakeup gardens, butterfly farms, train mu- and, despite the fact that, left to himself, seums, science museums and water he’d naturally stay up until 1am and not parks that I wouldn’t if get up until 10am, he is I was travelling solo or Our relationship sticking to that. with a partner. And as I don’t have to cajole Zac grows, he’s more is negotiated, him into bed and out of and more proactive rather than bed like I did in the UK, in terms of choosing and I suspect that’s bedictated, even what we do. cause it’s his choice. He Our relationship is committed to this promore so than is has changed and deject, he’s aware that he’s veloped as he’s grown the norm in onelearning and he’s workfrom a little boy of nine ing to maximise that parent families to a tween. learning.

Travel has not only Will we live this lifemade him adaptable but independent: style forever? No. Zac wants to go to a we’ve done exercises in independence, good university, which means he’ll need be that taking himself to the local shop in an IB (International Baccalaureate), Bangkok, or meeting me at a specific res- and I’d like him to have the experience of taurant in Ubud, Bali. He seems to be thriv- high school somewhere with more of a ing on a long and challenging school day social side to it than mainland China. in a difficult foreign language as an ethnic But, for now, we’re both happy, minority of one, so he’s hardly tied to my and looking forward to our next apron strings. adventure – Mongolia.

Our relationship is typically negotiated, rather than dictated, even more You can follow Theodora and Zac’s so than is the norm in one-parent, oneadventures at escapeartistes.com

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IndonesIa With more than 17,000 islands scattered over more than 5,000km, Indonesia takes time to get around, so pick one or two areas and focus on those.

In Bali, get out of Kuta, the tourist zone in the south, which is like Benidorm or Cancun for Australians, and head inland to Ubud, a much better place to experience Balinese culture.

Bali’s beaches are overrated, unless you’re a surfer. For beaches, head to one of the smaller surrounding islands or the beaches of another Kuta, on the island of Lombok. Indonesia has some of the best diving in the world, so it’s really worth trying at least a fun dive, even if you’ve never dived before.

Scuba is an option for kids as young as eight.

Profile

THE MANY FACES OF BEPPE GRILLO A former comedian, actor and cabaret performer has risen from nowhere to dominate Italian politics.

Lee Marshall profiles Italy’s new joker king

movie days / Grillo and French actor Coluche during the 1985 Cannes Film Festival

A

fter Italy’s February 2013 general election, the world’s media turned its attention not to the narrow overall winner, under-achieving centreleft leader Pier Luigi Bersani, nor to the runner-up, former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and his centre-right alliance.

Instead, the spotlight was focused on the man who finished a very strong third and ended up holding the balance of power: Genoese comedian Beppe Grillo, cofounder of the Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S), or Five Star Movement, which was running on an anti-austerity, anti-party-politics, anti-corruption, citizens’ power platform.

“Clown prince takes Italian election by storm,” announced CNN. com. “Beppe Grillo: Italian clown

or new hope?” asked Deutsche Welle. “Send in the clowns,” echoed The Economist on its cover, beneath full-length photos of Grillo and Berlusconi.

But to stress Grillo’s comedy past, as these headlines do, is to play down the impact of a political revolution that Andrea Teti, Director of the Centre for Global Security and Governance, has described in an article for Egypt Independent as a potential “Italian Spring.”

The international media has made this mistake before with an Italian politician. By focusing on his off-colour jokes, his un-PC gaffes, his judicial tangles and his bunga-bunga parties, the press outside of Italy has long painted a picture of Silvio Berlusconi as a grotesque, priapic joker and stage villain that nobody in their right

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minds would choose as prime minister. This is to underestimate the talent, as well as the danger, of one of the wiliest political survivors that Europe has produced in the last 20 years.

In the same way, it’s equally easy to dismiss Beppe Grillo as a charismatic, anger-fuelled standup comedian who has managed to translate his electrifying power over a live audience into the political arena. To some extent, all this is true. But the Grillo phenomenon is more complex than the ‘comedian’ tag would suggest, and it’s worth trying to understand it in depth, because it’s possible that a version of what Grillo has achieved in Italy – a piloted, populist citizens’ revolt – may be coming to a ballot box near you sometime soon.

Beppe in Ten easy steps

mouthful / Grillo’s oratory style is all passion and fire, a holdover from his days on the comedy circuit

01 The name ‘Nomen omen,’ the saying goes: sometimes, a name can be prophetic. This is certainly true of Beppe Grillo. Beppe, a diminutive of ‘Giuseppe,’ suggests a common touch, a man of the people. Grillo means ‘cricket,’ but also has associations in Italian with mad ideas, as in the expression ‘ha la testa piena di grilli’ – he’s full of bizarre whims. It’s difficult to believe it’s not a stage name – but it isn’t.

Back in the day, if you searched for ‘grillo’ on Italian Google you’d find information about the common cricket, Gryllus campestris, the Sicilian grape variety Grillo and perhaps a nod at Pinocchio’s sententious friend Il Grillo Parlante, known in English as Jiminy Cricket. Now you have to scroll down through pages and pages of Beppe Grillo. The first result returned is always Beppe Grillo’s blog, which is by far the most widely read blog in Italy.

02 The look Short, squat and angry, with a mane of unruly grey hair, Beppe Grillo emanates pent-up power and frustration.

He’s always on the move – during his stand-up shows and political rallies, he prowls around among his audience, waving his arms to underline points. He sometimes gets so carried away that he inadvertently spits at adoring fans and spectators, and even in formal headshots, his mouth is rarely closed. There’s a twinkle in his eyes, but also something diabolical. We’ve always been fascinated by scary clowns – think of the Joker in Batman. Most of the time, Grillo keeps this edge of menace under wraps, but he also knows when to unleash it.

03 The origins Beppe Grillo was born in Genoa in July 1948, three months after the Christian Democrats were swept to power in Italy’s first post-war elections. His father owned a factory that specialised in metal soldering torches, and the family was comfortably off, if not wealthy.

After qualifying as an accountant, Beppe worked for a while in his father’s firm, but it was comedy that really inspired him. He began working the Italian cabaret circuit, and in 1976 had his lucky break, when Italian TV personality and compère Pippo Baudo went to see him in a Milanese cabaret club. Baudo turned out to be the only spectator that evening, but Grillo put on a two-hour show for him anyway, which left Baudo “shocked at his bravura”.

Soon, with Baudo’s help, Grillo became a fixture of those interminable variety shows, mixing comedy, sen-

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timent, songs and dancing girls, that have always been a staple of Italian TV. Gradually, he revealed himself to be a master at playing an audience. He could wind them around his finger to the point where, even when he dropped his simpatico mask and revealed a more bitter, contemptuous side, they would still go on laughing.

The other thing Grillo loved was to see how much he could get away with. Then as now, Italian TV variety shows are generally recorded live, with routines that may be rehearsed but are rarely scripted. With each TV appearance, the Genoese comedian used the freedom this format allowed to become bolder, more polemical and also more experimental.

Until he pushed his paymasters too far.

04 The Rubicon Beppe Grillo’s defining moment – his personal Rubicon – came on another Baudo-hosted prime-time variety show, Fantastico, in 1986. This was five years before the explosion of Mani Pulite, the kickbacks scandal that brought down the then Italian prime minister Bettino Craxi, and destroyed the parties that had dominated Italian politics since the Second World War: Craxi’s own Socialists, and the Christian Democrats of Giulio Andreotti.

All this was in the future, however, when Grillo began to tell a joke about the Italian Socialists, a delegation from which had recently been on an official visit to the People’s Republic of China. Grillo has Claudio Martelli, then Craxi’s right-hand man, turn to his boss on arrival in Beijing, with the question: “But wait a minute – if there are a billion people in this country, and every one of them is socialist – then who are they stealing from?”.

Grillo was dropped by RAI (Italy’s state broadcaster) like a hot potato. The weak point in what has become a foundation stone of the ‘Grillo vs the establishment’ legend is the fact that the comedian was back on RAI less than two years later. But it’s true that his TV appearances after the Fantastico incident became increasingly sporadic. The truth seems to be that Grillo was already moving on from a medium that he clearly despised (on one of his final RAI appearances, he branded those watching at home as “18 million imbeciles”). Before long, he began to explore other outlets – the street, the piazza, and the big tent – for a brand of political satire that was becoming ever more polemical.

And yet, then as now, he refused to be branded as a man of the left or of the right, attacking both sides with equal gusto. At times he sounded like a guy on a soapbox at Hyde Park Corner – except that, across the country, he had an audience of millions. The ideas he threw up during his shows ranged from widely-shared critiques of, for example, what he saw as Italy’s corrupt, overpaid political class, to slightly cranky per-

close encounter / Pier Luigi Bersani was Grillo’s main opponent during the elections

ADoreD / Grillo addressing his supporters at a rally in Rome sonal campaigns like the promotion of zero-detergent ‘biowashball’, which in a consumer magazine’s test was shown to have more or less the same cleaning power as washing one’s clothes in plain hot water.

05 The associaTe It wasn’t until 2004 that Grillo began to translate his fury against the system into political action.

This was the year he met Gianroberto Casaleggio, a Milan-based web guru with hair even wilder than Grillo’s. Casaleggio is sometimes viewed as the eminence grise of the Movimento 5 Stelle, the man pulling Grillo’s strings. What is certain is that Casaleggio inspired Grillo, previously a techno-Luddite who went through a phase of destroying a personal computer on stage at the end of his shows, to reconsider the Inter-

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net as a tool for bypassing standard forms of political expression and aggregation.

Casaleggio also provided the technical and strategic knowhow that allowed the comedian to launch his blog, Beppegrillo.it, in January 2005. It was an instant hit, and by 2007 was the seventh most popular blog in the world, though it was written in a language that is not widely spoken outside of Italy – a country, moreover, where fewer than 40 per cent of households have access to a computer.

06 The movemenT With the blog going viral within Italy and some of Grillo’s posts attracting over 10,000 comments, it soon became clear to Grillo and Casaleggio that there was a need to channel the wave of support that they had unleashed. It was proposed that activists – initially known as ‘Friends of Beppe Grillo’ – should use the social network Meetup to organise local groups and, in the comedian’s words, “to discuss and develop my blog posts”. In what would become a defining trait of the movement, debate was free but under the watchful eye of Grillo, who would be the final arbiter of all decisions, develop the movement’s statute and rules and, occasionally, expel activists considered to have transgressed.

Initially, meetings revolved around environmental themes – particularly the need for clean and sustainable forms of waste disposal – and calls for greater political transparency, accountability and citizens’ participation in government. As in other grassroots protest movements, from Occupy to the Arab Spring, social media contacts fuelled real-life encounters and activism. The Italian media began to take notice of Grillo’s followers, who were dubbed, with a touch of condescension, grillini (little crickets).

Though he railed against what he saw as media lies (“the press is paid to slander us”, is one of his many pronouncements on the subject), Grillo is himself an able stager of attention-grabbing events and stunts.

The 2007 Bologna rally that established the ‘grillini’ as a force to reckon with was known as ‘V-day’ – a reference to a well known Italian swear word, used as an invitation to a political class that Grillo and his followers considered to be corrupt and out of touch with the electorate to pack their bags and leave. Later, on the eve of the Sicilian regional elections in October 2012, Grillo swam the three kilometres across the Strait of Messina from Calabria to Sicily – a stunt that critics of the comedian compared to the elderly Chairman Mao’s propaganda-coup swim in the Yangtze River of 1966.

In October 2009, with the number of activists growing by the hour, Grillo and Casaleggio organised the loose network of civic lists into the Movimento 5 Stelle.

The ‘five stars’ of the name stand for the movement’s

85

YesterdaY’s man / A ripped poster of Silvio Berlusconi during the election in Livorno five priorities: access to clean public water, sustainable transport, local development, telecoms connectivity and protection of the environment.

Over the next couple of years, M5S lists managed to place a few local and regional councillors in north and central Italy. But it was only when a M5S candidate, Federico Pizzarotti, was elected mayor of Parma in May 2012 with 60 per cent of the vote in a run-off against a traditional centre-left candidate that Italians began to think of the ‘grillini’ as more than just a fringe ‘anti-politics’ protest movement.

In the February 2013 Italian general elections, M5S ended up polling a remarkable 25.5 per cent in the lower house Camera dei deputati and 23.79 per cent in the Senate. In the lower house, this was more than any other party; but the electoral alliances of the rival

Open skies / MAY 2013

Face oFF / Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti on the Porta A Porta TV show before the election blocs, coupled with Italy’s complex electoral laws, meant that Grillo’s movement, which has always steadfastly refused to make binding deals with other parties, came in third in both houses in terms of its number of seats. Still, with neither Bersani’s centre-left alliance nor Berlusconi’s centre-right bloc holding a working majority in the Senate, the grillini held the balance of power – and at the time of writing, the stalemate was a long way from being resolved.

In line with the movement’s rules, M5S has declared that it will not accept its share of the public funding that the Italian state doles out to parties according to their electoral strength – a sum of well over 100 million euros. M5S parliamentarians will also be taking a cut in salary and expenses, though the movement’s programme promise that its elected representatives’ salaries should be “in line with the average national wage” – currently around 1,400 euros net according to national statistics institute ISTAT – has given rise to a lively debate within the movement.

Interestingly enough, Grillo will not be among those parliamentarians. The movement’s statute forbids anyone with criminal convictions from standing for office.

And in 1988, Grillo received a suspended 14-month sentence for manslaughter for a 1981 accident in which the jeep he was driving slid on ice on a mountain road and fell into a gully, killing two of the comedians’ friends and their nine-year-old son. Grillo had managed to open the door and throw himself to safety at the last minute.

07 The TesTimonial On 19 February 2013, during a campaign rally in Milan,

Beppe Grillo received his highest-profile testimonial to date: from Italian Nobel prize-winning playwright Dario Fo, who told the crowd that the rally reminded him of an anti-Fascist demonstration he had attended after the end of the war in 1945. “Back then we didn’t get the Italy we wanted – now it’s your turn to try!” he exhorted. Fo has since published a book of conversations with Grillo and Casaleggio. He has also, in interviews, drawn a line from Grillo back through himself to the giullari – court jesters or wandering entertainers – of medieval Italy.

“He is from the tradition of the wise storyteller”, Fo said after the Milan rally, “one who knows how to use surreal fantasy, who can turn situations around, who has the right word for the right moment, who can transfix people when he speaks, even in the rain and the snow.”

08 The criTicisms There is one overriding criticism of the movement founded by Grillo: that beneath its veneer of web-based democracy, this is an autocratic, top-down organisation entirely controlled by one man – or rather two, given Casaleggio’s important behind-the-scenes role. There’s a certain truth to this. Grillo is president and legal representative of M5S, and holds exclusive rights to its symbol and logos. The movement has its own independent website, but it’s revealing that, according to web information company Alexa, this ranks only 4,893 among Italian websites, while Grillo’s blog, which M5S activists continue to view as their real online home (and which is named as such in the movement’s ‘non-statute’), comes in at number 43.

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Open skies / may 2013

While policies are debated enthusiastically by the rank and file, Grillo has the final word on many issues, and uses his blog posts to issue guidelines and rules – such as the blanket ban on TV appearances by M5S members during the election campaign. When Federica Salsi, a M5S local councillor in Bologna, defied the ban to go on a talkshow, Grillo expelled her from the movement, together with a regional councillor, Giovanni Favia, whose off-air comment that “Casaleggio is manipulating us all … there’s no democracy in the movement” provoked one of Grillo’s more strident online outbursts: “If anyone thinks I’m anti-democratic … or dishonest, then they should get the hell out of here,” he fulminated.

Other critiques of Grillo have focused on the fact that, although the M5S has attracted a large proportion of disaffected left-wing support, his brand of anti-austerity, pro-patria populism is not a million miles from that of far-right parties such as Greece’s Golden Dawn. Grillo’s pronouncements on immigration, for example, have been contradictory.

He berates Italy for its treatment of asylum seekers, but back in 2007 he wrote: “Every day I receive hundreds of letters on Roma gypsies, it’s a time bomb, and must be defused. The borders of the fatherland used to be sacred, politicians have desecrated them”.

Finally, there’s the accusation that M5S’s much -vaunted web-based model of democracy is no more than window-dressing. When online primaries were held in December 2012 to select the party’s parliamentary candidates, only just over 20,000 of the movement’s 250,000 estimated members actually bothered to vote.

09 The plaTform The 28 points in the pre-electoral manifesto of Beppe Grillo’s Movimento 5 Stelle were all prefaced by ‘Not in my name’. They included: * Not in my name will the welfare state be dismantled * Not in my name will political parties receive a single euro more of public funding

* Not in my name will Italy remain in the euro without consulting the electorate * Not in my name will our small and medium industries be destroyed * Not in my name will large retail chains destroy local shops * Not in my name will those seeking political asylum be treated like cattle * Not in my name will Italy ever again take part in other people’s wars, as it did in Afghanistan and Libya * Not in my name will high-ranking public officials be awarded salaries fit for a king * Not in my name will Italy be squeezed dry to purchase our public debt from French and German banks * Not in my name will people be forced to remortgage their homes to meet tax bills, nor will their main residences be subject to property taxes 10 The one-liners, funny and serious * Who do you find in criminal gangs today? If you look hard, they’re made up of bankers, politicians, magistrates and perhaps, just very occasionally, a real criminal. * Italy is a country of cheats and tricksters. I was in Rome, on a bus, and I stamped my ticket, click-clack.

The driver turned around and said: “What the hell was that noise?” * My daughter asked me if she could do a screen test for Saranno famosi [Italy’s version of the TV talent show Fame]. I said to her, “can’t you just do drugs like everyone else and have done with it?” * The Internet is one of the few glimmers of hope we have for standing up for ourselves, and restoring to politics the spaces stolen from it by economics. * We don’t need power stations that produce a million megawatts. We need a million citizens producing a watt each. [Writer’s note: the maths is Grillo’s own.]

Lee Marshall is a writer and journalist based in Italy who writes for the weekly Internazionale.

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Open skies / may 2013

JUAN HERRERO'S STUNNING SHOTS REVEAL THE MAGIC OF THE Y EMENI ISLAND O F SOCOTR A

GREETINGS

Fishermen handling a shark they captured in Ras Irsel, the deserted easternmost point of the island. Fishing has traditionally been the primary occupation of the people of Socotra along the coasts. The waters of the island are crammed with all kinds of fish and some rare species, such as the Acropora palifera and Rhincodon, which is only found on Socotra

SHARK TALE

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Open skies / january 2013

DRAGONs' FOREST

A DRAGON BlOOD TREE FOREST FAciNG DiRhuR RivER vAllEy. ThE DRAGON BlOOD TREE iS A SOcOTRAN icON AND ONE OF ThE mOST STRikiNG plANTS ON ThE iSlAND. ThiS STRANGE-lOOkiNG TREE iS ONE OF iTS cOuNTlESS ENDEmic SpEciES. ThE DRAGON BlOOD’S RED SAp hAS BEEN uSED AS mEDiciNE AND DyE FOR huNDREDS OF yEARS. ExpERTS SAy ThE FuTuRE OF ThE SpEciES iS ThREATENED mAiNly DuE TO climATE chANGE which hAS lED TO pOOR REpRODucTiON OF ThE TREE

THe WALK Descending from the humid rainforests of the Haghier mountain highlands, still far from the southern coast, sky and land open in a hotter savannah-like landscape which lead the way through valleys to the crisp blue ocean. These prairies are dotted with small stone villages, in most cases just a few clustered houses shared by extended families. Two men from the mountain villages lead our way to a house, where we share a meal of goat and rice, as well as find shelter from the cold night

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Open skies / january 2013

PARADISE Along the deserted north-eastern coastline, the massive dunes of Arher rise up steep cliffs facing the Aden sea. Crossing between the dunes are fresh water streams that originate in the mountains above, making the landscape even more surreal

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ConCourse A

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Open skies / MAY 2013

EmiratEs and thE magpiEs There are no bigger teams

in Australian sport than the Emirates-sponsored Aussie rules giants Collingwood FC. Affectionately known as the Magpies, the Melbourne-based team is the most supported club of any sport in Australia and one of the most successful teams in the history of the AFL – with an enviable 15 premiership titles to their name.

With the season recently under way the Magpies have started well, and are gearing up for this month’s clash against bitter rivals the Geelong Cats on May 18 – a game that is expected to attract around 80,000 fans to their home ground the MCG.

Emirates is proud to be continuing their partnership with the club, which started back in 1999 when the airline had only one daily flight between

Dubai and Australia. Today Emirates offers 84 weekly flights to Australia including daily A380 services to both Melbourne and Sydney.

UpdatEs to EmiratEs.com nEw transatlantic flight

STarTing laTer ThiS year Emirates will launch a new trans-Atlantic daily flight connecting mainland Europe and North America.

The non-stop route from Milan’s Malpensa Airport to New York JFK is scheduled to launch on October 1.

Customers looking to fly on the award-winning airline will be able to seamlessly connect from points all over the US, including the West Coast, taking advantage of Emirates’ partnership with JetBlue, and across Europe, maximising the airline’s frequent flyer partnership with easyJet. Operating with a Boeing 777-300ER, the flight will be an extension of one of Emirates’ existing three daily, Dubai to Milan flights.

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alwayS looking To make things that little bit easier, Emirates has revamped its website making it simpler for customers to manage their Emirates Skywards account, flights and redemptions.

Emirates.com’s newly designed account section now allows Emirates Skywards members to manage a booking, upgrade a ticket and check-in online while monitoring their miles balance and browsing through the different benefits of membership.

Currently the content, information and FAQs about the programme are available in 16 languages.

Open skies / MAY 2013

green

Soaring Solar power

The world’s firsT solar-powered plane,

Solar Impulse, has announced that it will attempt to carry out a fuel-less coast-tocoast flight across the US later this year.

Following on from its impressive 5,000km fuel-less round trip between Switzerland and Morocco last year, the team behind the high-tech aircraft has declared its intentions to fly from

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The single-seater prototype aircraft – piloted by the Swiss explorer and aviator Bertrand Piccard – only weighs 1,600 kilos but has the same wingspan as an Airbus A340 (approx 60m).

Because of its size, the aircraft will fly at a relatively low altitude of 6,000 feet amd a cruising speed of about 69km/h.

Although solar-powered commercial aircraft may still be a thing of the future, the continual success of the Solar Impulse is a step in the right direction.

If all goes well, the team intends to attempt a round-the-world flight in 2015.

a booSt for biofuelS researchers aT The US Department of Energy (DOE) have announced a possible breakthrough to help boost sugar yields in the ongoing quest to develop sustainable biofuels.

A recent announcement from the Joint Bioenergy Institute (JBEI) – a DOE subsidiary – claims that they have successfully engineered a way to cost-effectively extract a higher level of organic sugar from plants, allowing for a larger yield, which in turn can be used to produce advanced biofuels.

The research has focused on engineering healthy plants whose lignocellulosic biomass – the most abundant organic material on Earth – can be broken down into simple

sugars, which will then increase the amount of fuel sugars available to produce advanced biofuels.

The US Environmental Protection Agency announced that 77.6 million gallons of biodiesel were produced in February this year, meaning that the US has exceeded its biodiesel targets for two consecutive years.

a greener tomorrow – Quick update

emiraTes’ laTesT environmenTal initiative

‘A Greener Tomorrow’ has got off to a fast start.

This is the first time Emirates has rolled out such an initiative, and the aim is to support a not-for-profit environmental or conservation organisation by providing a funding award of $150,000, helping them to achieve positive environmental outcomes.

To date, the Greener Tomorrow team has received hundreds of enquiries and a significant number of applications from groups all over the world, covering a diverse range of environmental themes.

The initiative received a great deal of interest from Emirates’ Facebook fans, with more than 22,000 people engaging with the post and many fans choosing to nominate organisations about which they are passionate.

Visit the website and Facebook page for updates on the shortlisted groups.

The winning organisation will be announced on World Environment Day, June 5.

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Open skies / MAY 2013

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Comfort

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smart traveller

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use skin moisturiser

During the flight

ApplY A gooD quAlitY moisturiser to ensure Your skin Doesn’t DrY out.

Chewing and swallowing will help equalise your ear pressure during ascent and descent.

Babies and young passengers may

keep moving

suffer more acutely with popping

exercise Your loWer legs AnD cAlf

ears, therefore consider providing

muscles. this encourAges BlooD floW.

a dummy.

Get as comfortable as possible when resting and turn frequently.

Avoid sleeping for long periods in

make yourself comfortable

the same position.

loosen clothing, remove JAcket AnD AvoiD

When You Arrive

AnYthing pressing AgAinst Your BoDY.

Try some light exercise or read if you can’t sleep after arrival.

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Open skies / MAY 2013

p.c. Studio - Photo Tommaso Sartori

DESIGN PORTRAIT.

Anne, the creative director, and the two loves of her life: Jacob and Michel.

Michel is designed by Antonio Citterio

www.bebitalia.com

B&B Italia Showroom: Jumeirah Beach Road, Dubai - UAE Tel: +971 4 346 6932 Baituti Showroom: Zaabeel Road, Dubai - UAE Tel: +971 4 334 4478 bebitalia@baituti.com www.binhendi.com

VISA & STATS

Guide

CABIN CREw wILL BE HAPPY TO HELP IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE COMPLETINg THE FORMS

to Us cUstoms & immigration forms Whether you’re travelling to, or through, the United States today, this simple guide to completing the US customs and immigration forms will help to ensure that your journey is as hassle free as possible.

immigration form to cHange From 30th April to May 21st, the paper immigration Form I-94 (Arrival/ Departure Record) will be gradually phased out.

The forms will be phased ouT as follows:

Passengers who previously needed the I-94 will be provided with a Customs and Border Protection admission stamp on their travel document. This will act as an Arrival Record. The phase out process will happen gradually over the month of May and depends on your destination.

may 14: Flights to San Francisco TUS, Seattle and Los Angeles

The following dates and destinations mark the start of the new process, when paper forms will no longer be required:

may 07: Flights to New York & Houston

may 21: Flights to all remaining destinations After May 22nd it will no longer be necessary for passengers to fill out paper forms on their arrival in the United States by air.

On exiting the United States at any time, passengers issued a paper I-94 should surrender it upon departure.

customs declaration form All passengers arriving into the US need to complete a Customs DeClaration Form. If you are travelling as a family this should be

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Open skies / MAY 2013

completed by one member only. The form must be completed in English, in capital letters, and must be signed where indicated.

ELECTRONIC SYSTEM FOR TRAVEL AUTHORISATION (ESTA)

If you are an international traveller wishing to enter the United States under the Visa Waiver Programme, You must apply for electronic authorisation (ESTA) up to 72 hours prior to your departure.

ESTA FACTS:

Children and infants require an individual ESTA. The online ESTA system will inform you whether your application has been authorised, not authorised or if authorisation is pending.

A successful ESTA application is valid for two years, however this may be revoked or will expire along with your passport.

APPLY ONLINE AT WWW.CBP.GOV/ESTA NATIONALITIES ELIGIBLE FOR THE VISA WAIVER*:

Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Monaco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UnitedKingdom** * SUBJECT TO CHANGE ** ONLY BRITISH CITIZENS QUALIFY UNDER THE VISA WAIVER PROGRAMME.

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OPEN SKIES / MAY 2013

ROUTE MAP

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OPEN SKIES / MAY 2013

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WHERE ARE YOU GOING? TELL US OR UPLOAD A PIC AT FACEBOOK.COM/OPENSKIESMAGAZINE TWITTER.COM/OPENSKIESMAG

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Open skies / MAY 2013

FLEET

The Fleet

Our fleet cOntains 204 planes Made up Of 193 passenger planes and 11 cargO planes

Boeing 777-300eR Number of Aircraft: 88 Capacity: 354-442 Range: 14,594km Length: 73.9m Wingspan: 64.8m

Boeing 777-300 Number of Aircraft: 12 Capacity: 364 Range: 11,029km Length: 73.9m Wingspan: 60.9m

Boeing 777-200LR Number of Aircraft: 10 Capacity: 266 Range: 17,446km Length: 63.7m Wingspan: 64.8m

Boeing 777-200 Number of Aircraft: 9 Capacity: 274-346 Range: 9,649km Length: 63.7m Wingspan: 60.9m

Boeing 777F Number of Aircraft: 8 Range: 9,260km Length: 63.7m Wingspan: 64.8m

For more inFormation: www.emirates.com/ourFleet

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Airbus A380-800 Number of Aircraft: 34 Capacity: 489-5 17 Range: 15,000km Length: 72.7m Wingspan: 79.8m

Airbus A340-500 Number of Aircraft: 10 Capacity: 258 Range: 16,050km Length: 67.9m Wingspan: 63.4m

Airbus A340-300 Number of Aircraft: 7 Capacity: 267 Range: 13,350km Length: 63.6m Wingspan: 60.3m

Airbus A330-200 Number of Aircraft: 23 Capacity: 237-278 Range: 12,200km Length: 58.8m Wingspan: 60.3m

boeing 747-400F/747-400erF Number of Aircraft: 1/2 Range: 8,232km/9,204km Length: 70.6m Wingspan: 64.4m

aircraft numbers as of 30/05/2013

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E N JU N

ext month we feature one of the best photographers in Europe and his unique take on Dubai. His work has been exhibited across the world, and we will show you a side of the city you have never seen before. We try out a local culinary treat at one of the city’s best – and most hidden – restaurants. We also talk exclusively to renowned British architect Sir Norman Foster about his work, his art and the future of the city. One of the world’s greatest superheroes, Superman, is back this summer with a new film directed by Zack Snyder. We take a look at the man (of steel), and the myth, and figure out if this latest instalment will put the franchise back on track.

See you next month.

www.omegawatches.com

PRESENTS

STARRING

NICOLE KIDMAN