Indholdsfortegnelse for May 2019 i Wanderlust

As I write this, UK politics is going bonkers, and everyone I meet is fed up with the ‘B’ word. So, I thought I’d come up with some alternative (and less controversial) letters beginning with B. B is for Breathtaking. Whether it’s that first sight of Guyana’s Kaieteur Falls (p120) or glimpsing Jordan’s Petra – one of many great ‘lost worlds’ (p60) – through a flickering prism of candlelight, we always aim to bring you the world’s most breathtaking experiences. B is for Beguiling. We often get excited about exotic lands, but Graeme Green’s feature on Scotland’s beguiling islands of the Inner Hebrides (p44) will have you itching to go discover these wild shores on our doorstep. B is for Beautiful. Exploring the Mekong (p92) or discovering a different side…

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”Jawaharlal Nehru, independent India’s first prime minister The misty Mahal Agra, India Photographer: Michele Falzone/AWL Images It is the burden of most visitors to the Taj Mahal that they have to drag themselves out of bed pre-dawn to take a photograph devoid of crowds. Arriving at 6am is the standard advice for grabbing unobstructed shots (as well as head over to the Mehtab Bagh – the garden over the river). But this drone image, taken on a misty morning, reminds us just why we bother. The Taj’s hazy form, materialising out of the mist, captures the romance that…

”Exploring off the beaten path among the otherworldly fairy chimneys of Turkey’s Cappadocia.” @fredlizee ”Standing on the Nepal-Tibet border at Khora La, which is forbidden to tourists and only open to Chinese.” Eileen Hewson ”Soaking in the shade on Barbados’ Bathsheba Beach, with its huge boulders and surfer-friendly waves.” Stuart Pester ”Admiring the views and hoodoos at Utah’s Bryce Canyon National Park – a red-rock wonder!” @onewaywander_ ”Finding an alternative view inside the Demodara Tunnel at the end of Ella’s Nine Arch Bridge in Sri Lanka.” @hrikkri ”Taking in the dancing trees of Walakiri Beach at the end of a long bike ride on the island of Sumba, Indonesia.” Ben Reddy ”Getting up close and personal with an elephant seal on Sea Lion Island in the Falklands.” Jospehine Muncaster ”Braving…

Think ‘Namibia’ and chances are an image of towering dunes will pop into your head – a great butterscotch whip of sandy peaks crowning the Namib Desert. But there’s more to this extraordinary country than sky-scraping sand dunes. Namibia combines desert, coast, wildlife and adventure better than any other destination. It’s little wonder it was voted ‘top country’ in this year’s Wanderlust Reader Travel Awards. Now, the Namibia Tourism Board, in partnership with Osprey, Imagine Travel and South African Airways, are offering one lucky winner a self-drive holiday for two to Namibia. You’ll get a chance to track desert-adapted elephant from a tented camp in rugged Damaraland, enjoy three nights on safari in Etosha National Park and spend time at Okonjima – home of the AfriCat Foundation. The prize, worth…

Vital statistics Capital: Edinburgh Population: 5.3 million Language: English, Scots & Gaelic Time: GMT International dialling code: +44 Money: GBP (£). Cash machines aren’t easy to find in the Inner Hebrides, especially on the smaller islands. Carry some cash, though most restaurants, hotels and petrol stations do accept cards. When to go June, July, August & September – These are the warmest months in the Inner Hebrides, as well as the busiest period for the more touristy islands, such as Islay, Mull and Iona. April–June & September–October – The shoulder season has far fewer crowds. April to August are the best months for spying puffins and guillemots on the Treshnish Isles. November– March – The winter months on the island can be harsh, and there are more limited ferry services,…

Packing for any holiday can be challenging, but especially multi-activity trips that see you exploring a city one day and walking in the countryside the next. A wheelie suitcase won’t suffice off the pavements, but a backpack can often make it hard to access your things quickly and easily. That is why the experts at Gregory Mountain Products have designed their Adventure Travel range of packs, suitable for anything from a weekend getaway to a two-week trip. Now they are giving one reader the chance to win four backpacks – two ‘Nano’ packs, perfect for day trips, and two 65L adventure packs, with travel-oriented features to make packing simple. Time for adventure Gregory’s two 65L adventure packs – Praxus (designed for men) and Proxy (for women) – have been created…

1 Old Ghost Road Trail, New Zealand Remote and not for the fainthearted, this 85km back-country trail on New Zealand’s South Island starts at the abandoned mining town of Lyell, and only gets weirder from there as you pass fragments of settlements: schools, hotels and graveyards. This was gold miner’s country, and relics of those days, now abandoned to nature, scatter the land as you follow an old miner’s route deep into the wilderness. 2 Oradour-sur-Glane, France Some places are left empty for good reason. It was in 1944, after the Allied forces had landed in France, that German soldiers marched into this village in central France and massacred its people, apparently in revenge for local resistance activity. After the Second World War, Charles de Gaulle said that its burnt-out…

DURATION: 5 days ROUTE: Stung Treng (Cambodia) • Kratie • Chhlong • Kompong Cham • Phnom Penh WHY DO IT? This is the most remote and wild stretch of the Mekong in Cambodia and reveals isolated island communities and traditional lifestyles that are fast being abandoned in the cities. The real highlight is spotting the rare river dolphins of Kampi, although there is also a gentle charm to the nearby town of Kratie and the Mekong island of Koh Trong. Earn a night on the town in Phnom Penh after this remote adventure. Heading south, into Cambodia and past Stung Treng, the shores become a hive of activity as local people cast out nets, paddle their boats or fire up their pumps to harness the waters and earn a living.…

1 ALILA FORT BISHANGARH No spectacle epitomises the spirit of Rajput pride and swagger as eloquently as Bishangarh’s great fortress, whose turreted walls rise implacably from a patchwork of mustard fields and mango orchards in the hills north of Jaipur. The maze-like interior has been lavishly renovated by the luxury Alila chain, and holds plenty of delightful surprises, from hidden pavilions and libraries to secret tower rooms whose wood-framed windows look out across the surrounding countryside. Its grounds are so large that the pool is a buggy ride away and has the fort itself as an imposing backdrop. B&B doubles from £214pn, based on two sharing; alilahotels.com/fortbishangarh 2 RAAS DEVIGARH, DELWARA Expect to be showered with rose petals as you pass through the gateway of this splendid fortress-palace in the…

Vital statistics Capitals: Georgetown (Guyana), Paramaribo (Suriname) and Cayenne (French Guiana) Population: 778,000 (Guyana), 563,000 (Suriname) and 274,000 (French Guiana) Languages: English (Guyana), Dutch (Suriname) and French (French Guiana); all three also have creole dialects Time: GMT›3 (Suriname and French Guiana); GMT›4 (Guyana) International dialling code: +592 (Guyana); +597 (Suriname); +594 (French Guiana) Visas: UK nationals don’t require visas for Guyana or French Guiana (EU); tourist cards (€35) for Suriname can be bought on arrival Money: Guyanese Dollar (GYD), Suriname Dollar (SRD) and French Guiana Euro (EUR); GYD270, SRD9.63 and €1.17 to the UK£ When to go Apr–Nov: July onwards is a moderately rainy season with drier spells of warm sunshine; year-round temperatures hover at around 25ºC. Dec–Mar: Expect a short ‘dry’ season and festivals. Indian Holi (Mar) and Mashramani…

There’s a reason the Mediterranean island of Corsica is nicknamed the Ile de Beauté (Island of Beauty). Lying between France and Italy at the tip of Sardinia, the island is a place of dramatic geographical diversity, with turquoise waters, forest-covered mountains and villages perched on hilltops. For a long time, Corsica was only known as a sun, sea and sand destination. With over 15 hours of sunshine in summer and more than 1,000km of coastline, it’s easy to see why. But gradually the island is gaining the adventurous reputation it deserves, with those in the know hopping on the two-hour flight from the UK to mix walking with watersports and days of cycling with nights of local wine and island cuisine. HIKING & BIKING Corsica feels as though it was…

“Georgia has always intrigued me – I’ve long dreamed of exploring the little-visited monasteries, the remote villages, the UNESCO sites and pristine mountain passes. And then there’s the wine, of course, considered some of Europe’s best. So come and join me in Georgia to experience this beautiful country together.”Lyn Hughes There are few places left in Europe that can be truly labelled ‘undiscovered’ but Georgia remains one of them. Set at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, lying across a key section of the fabled Silk Road route, it is a fascinating country – both culturally and visually. As Mike Gerrard wrote in Wanderlust, ‘If I had to come up with a description for Georgia, geographically as well as culturally, it would be Middle Eastern Europe’. This 11-day small-group tour…

The highlight: Being blessed in a Hindu aarti ceremony in Sri Mariamman temple in Singapore’s Chinatown. We had tilaks painted on our foreheads and were anointed with flame and rosewater. Must see: The Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur have a shrine dedicated to Murugan, the Hindu god of war, and are famed for their 272 rainbow steps and 40m-high statue. Visitors are rewarded with views of colourful temples nestled among the caves – but do watch out for phone-stealing monkeys! Top tip: Gardens by the Bay is a futuristic nature park in Singapore. It overlooks the marina and has nightly free music-and-light shows in its Super Tree grove. In Kuala Lumpur – even if you’re not travelling with kids – the KLCC Park is still fun, with its lake and…

FREEWHEELING YOUR WAY AROUND THE BLACK FOREST Q I’d like to try a long weekend of easy cycling in Germany’s Black Forest. How easy is it to rent a bike, and what would be the best option for an multi-day route that includes culture and scenery? Aurélie Marchand, via email A It is certainly not necessary to bring your own bicycle. All local tourist offices can provide a list of local bike rental shops. And don’t worry about not speaking German, most people will have some English. Most multi-stage routes take between five and eight days. However, the Southern Black Forest Route is relatively easy to adapt. For example, the regular five-day route can be shortened by skipping the last couple of sections. If you want to make it easier,…

Star letter Frozen assets If you have ever dreamed of going to Antarctica, I can now tell you it is everything you dreamed of and more. My first stop was Deception Island, where we landed on a beach filled with penguins and seals. The sheer number of penguins (over 200,000) takes your breath away, and so does the smell – back on the ship, I got to know the ‘Mud Room’ (for cleaning off penguin poo) very well. Being in the company of the baby penguins as they slid down the ‘runs’ or harassed their parents for food was magical. However, for me, walking on the ice flow in Antarctica was the highlight – a totally unexpected experience. The more I travel, the more I realise I have had a…

Do look now! Venice gets its first permanent art quarter You don’t need to have heard of the world-famous Venice Biennale (11 May–24 Nov) to know that art and the City of Water go hand in hand. But such reputations aren’t built on nostalgia, and Venice has now added its first permanent art quarter, nestled on the island of Giudecca. It marks a phoenix-like revival for an area better known for its industrial past, with its galleries now featuring exhibitions by the acclaimed Damien Hirst, Marina Abramovic and others. So, if you plan on heading to the Biennale, pay the island a visit – and be sure to stop by the Casa dei Tre Oci (House of the Three Eyes) gallery, the only public space dedicated to photography in…

When it comes to wildlife, British Columbia is hard to top. This western region of Canada is home to over 1,100 species – more than any other province in the country. The rivers form super highways for salmon, the rainforests provide shelter for bears and the shores offer rich feeding grounds for whales. And then there are the eagles, bison, moose, bighorn sheep, caribou and coastal wolves – just part of a list as long as it is varied. BEAR COUNTRY In the 16-million-acre Great Bear Rainforest, you can track down the elusive Kermode ‘spirit bear’, one of the rarest animals in the world. This unique species of black bear – only spotted in British Columbia – has unusual creamy-white fur, the result of carrying a recessive gene. Staying at…

Back in the 1990s, the Mekong River felt like the final frontier for travellers. At its northern reaches, it marked the border between the comfort zone of Thailand and the then undiscovered world of Laos, which a combination of conflict and communism had pushed off the overland map of South-East Asia. Crossing the newly built Friendship Bridge over the border from Nong Khai and heading towards Vientiane in 1995, I felt like an explorer. This was long before the days that Beer Lao T-shirts were as common as Red Bull vests among Bangkok backpackers. The Lao capital of Vientiane was a sleepy backwater and the now-long-gone Bar Mixay was the place to be – a ramshackle old building on the shores of the Mekong River that attracted everyone from Russian…

DURATION: 3 days (by river); 7 days (overland) ROUTE: Phnom Penh (Cambodia) • Chau Doc (Vietnam) • Can Tho • Vinh Long • My Tho • Ho Chi Minh City WHY DO IT? Enjoy life in the slow lane on a river journey from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City – still known by its old name of Saigon to many. Nevertheless, the cross-border contrast between Cambodia and Vietnam, where the Mekong is a major transport route, is stark – like switching from a country lane to the M25. At the end of the road, the former Vietnamese capital offers sophistication and the option of an extension in the likes of Phu Quoc, Con Dao or beyond. As the Mekong leaves Cambodia, the river splits into nine arteries. The…

Ireland’s top tours revealed Castles, wild coastlines and the finest pubs in the world – just a few reasons to check out our pick of the best tours of Ireland wanderlust.co.uk/TopIrelandTrips Michael Palin Comedian, actor and now Wanderlust’s Icon of Travel – the former Python talks 30 years on the road in this extended interview. Read it all now! wanderlust.co.uk/ MichaelPalin Gallery of the month Go where eagles dare with this look at The Empire of the Eagle, a book that takes a bird’s-eye view of these wild creatures wanderlust.co.uk/BeautifulEagles Go west! Discover the wilderness of British Columbia – an unforgettable Canadian landscape of epic hikes and rare wildlife wanderlust.co.uk/ DiscoverBritishColumbia Georgia trip selling out Pick up the last spots remaining on our exclusive tour of Georgia with Wanderlust’s editor-in-chief,…

Out in the rugged wilderness of Sri Lanka’s Yala National Park, the wildlife roams free. You’ll find crocodiles, bears and herds of elephants, as well as one of the highest concentrations of leopards in the world. The park – a five-hour drive from the capital of Colombo – stretches nearly a thousand square kilometres from the island’s south-east coast, covered in thick deciduous forest, grassy plains and rolling golden sand dunes along the shore. Nestled at the heart of these dunes, with the ocean still in sight, is Jetwing Safari Camp – a collection of ten elegantly rustic tents designed to maximise the safari experience. With the camp as a base, you can immerse yourself in Yala National Park, spotting wildlife by day, then falling asleep to the rush of…

As the parrot flies, Dominica is only 47km long and 26km wide. Sitting at the heart of the Caribbean, the island is the most mountainous landscape in the region, with a dense cluster of nine volcanoes dominating the landscape, covered in rainforest that conceals more than 350 rivers and waterfalls. Imagine Jurassic Park (without the dinosaurs ) and you’ll have a fairly accurate picture. Visiting Dominica makes you feel alive. You can embark on a full day trek through dense rainforest, swim through gorges to hidden waterfalls, scuba dive colourful reefs and rappel down cliffs on a thrilling canyoning trip. The best part? When you tell people that you’re going to Dominica and they respond by talking about the beaches and resorts of the Dominican Republic, just smile. You are…

When you visit a doctor while abroad, the scope for misunderstandings through language and cultural differences is pretty high. To get the best out of a consultation, think hard about what you’ll say beforehand. Here are some tips on seeking medical advice when out on the road… Get everyone’s name Exotic clinical facilities can be confusing – although your travel insurance should have you well looked after – and sometimes a minder will be allotted to sweep you through the formalities. Even so, establish who is who. Later on, it might be useful to know which doctor you saw, and many will have business cards, which help with recording unfamiliar names. Know your medical terms Medical education in many countries is conducted in English, and even in countries where English…

Before you arrive Panama City marks its 500th anniversary this August, and although parts of the metropolis are upgrading, there are plenty of neighbourhoods holding on to their old-time charm. Crumbling colonial exteriors, sleepy plazas and markets filled with local food and crafts can still be found away from the skyscrapers and malls. The capital is also celebrating in style. Jazz festivals and murals are popping up to honour the big year, and even the churches got a makeover for the Pope’s visit in early 2019. A wave of chic dining spots, bars and plush hotels are making themselves at home, too, often inside renovated buildings with their original pastel-coloured façades. Then there’s old classics like the UNESCO-listed areas of Casco Viejo and Panamá Viejo and, of course, the famous…

Get orientated Dublin is a capital not short on charm. Cobbled alleys, grand medieval cathedrals and a surfeit of craic often ensure a lively visit. Yet this is a city as wrapped up in the past as in its vibrant present. The streets here are stalked by the ghosts of artists and writers, a truth the city revels in during Bloomsday (16 June), which celebrates Dublin’s most iconic fictional local, Leopold Bloom of James Joyce’s Ulysees. The build up to this is a four-day festival of literary pub crawls, readings and city tours transporting visitors to turn-of-the-century Dublin. But it’s not only during festival time when history and the arts collide. Temple Bar District thrived in centuries gone by as a hotbed of scandal, before falling into disrepair. Now it’s…

The ‘fairy chimneys’ of Cappadocia, in Turkey’s Goreme Valley, have little to do with magical sprites. This moonscape has been millions of years in the making, its spires formed from soft tufa, created by the volcanic ash that rained down over prehistoric Turkey, and topped in a layer of hard basalt. Time and erosion took care of the rest. While nature may have sculpted this scene, what humanity did with it next is just as compelling. Entire cave cities (see p60), built to defend against Arab invaders, and around 600 rock-cut Christian churches have been carved out of the land. The most famous is Karanlik Kilise (Dark Church), where hushed whispers, huge arches and delicate Byzantine frescoes fill the cavern. But it isn’t underground where you’ll find the best views.…

Rhett Butler knew the score. “I’m going back to Charleston... to see if, somewhere, there isn’t something left in life of charm and grace,” he declares at the end of the 1939 film version of Gone with the Wind. Even today, charm and grace are no strangers to South Carolina’s oldest city. Equal measures period buildings and old-world manners, this is also an area with a story to tell (plus a distinctive drawl in which to tell it), spanning American Civil War sites and antebellum riches. Charleston’s history is writ large on its streets. Stroll Rainbow Row to admire its old houses, daubed in hazy pastel shades since the 1930s. Some say this was done to guide rum-soaked sailors back to their digs, others claim it was a cheap way…

Were you to capture the vibrant colours and warmth of the islands of the Indian Ocean in a pie, tourte Rodriguaise wouldn’t be a bad place to start. For residents of the tiny volcanic island of Rodrigues, a distant outpost of Mauritius, the pies’ filling of fresh-grated coconuts and sunshine-yellow papaya is like a snapshot of the region. From the fruit trees that dot the interior to the capital, Port Mathurin, where its sweet scent drifts between market stalls, it’s a genuine taste of local life. For those intrigued, it also offers (literally) a bite-size history of the island. With its buttery pastry and tropical filling, the pie likely has roots in Rodrigues’ past as a former French colony. Settlers gave the traditional tarte a creole makeover and now, much…

“Bears can come from anywhere, at any time in Churchill,” warned Brett Whitlock, as we stood outside the only Polar Bear Holding Facility in the world. Given he manages the town’s Polar Bear Alert Program, which guards against encroaching animals, it seemed like advice worth heeding. Churchill lies on the western edge of Canada’s Hudson Bay, and its ‘Polar Bear Capital of the World’ moniker is well earned. Inmates at the ‘bear jail’ may have numbered just eight when I visited, but an aerial survey taken in 2016 estimates the region is a habitat to 842 bears. Sightings here peak from mid-October to the first week of November, when bears migrate along the coast to hunt seals on the ice, but it’s a year-round job to monitor them, and when…

‘There were no other people on the creamy stretch of sand ahead, as we sped along The Big Strand, an epic 12km-long beach’ We pedalled hard against the wind. Little sanderlings on the shore scattered, like shoals of silver-white fish, as we approached. “This area’s famous for birds,” fat-biking guide Dave Protherough called out to me, as four oystercatchers took flight over the ocean. “These bikes are a great way to explore and see the local wildlife.” There were no other people on the creamy stretch of sand ahead, as we sped along The Big Strand, an epic 12km-long beach on the west coast of Islay. Waves crashed to our side. We dodged rubbery bands of orange kelp and bounced over rocks. Being here on a standard road or mountain…

PETRA, JORDAN Trek to an iconic desert city The history: The Nabataeans were some of the most skilled traders in the ancient world. Having abandoned their nomadic lifestyle from the sixth century BC to settle in the northern Arabian Desert, they built a vast trading network centred on a rose-red city carved out of sandstone cliffs. Petra was hugely successful until the Romans annexed it in AD106. Then, as sea trade routes, invaders and earthquakes sapped its influence, it was lost to all but the Bedouin, who kept it as their glorious secret. The experience: Petra is a city of anticipation. There are few greater reveals in travel than walking the final few steps of the Siq, the 1.2km sandstone cleft that scythes through the mountains to reveal the Treasury…

DURATION: 7 days ROUTE: Chiang Rai (Thailand) • Chiang Khong • Huay Xai (Laos) • Pak Beng • Luang Prabang WHY DO IT? The perfect way to begin or end a Mekong River encounter. Get over the jetlag with a gentle river cruise to Luang Prabang or hold off the return to everyday life by unwinding on the water – this is your decompression chamber between East and West. After a few days amid the wats of Thailand’s Chiang Rai, make for the Laos border, where boats leave from the bustling town of Huay Xai on the Lao side. The mountains soon overshadow the meandering river, and by sunset they are almost gorge-like as the boats stop overnight at Pak Beng, a transit town bursting with guesthouses and a couple…

There’s something alluring about exploring the world by yacht – hopping from island to island, sun on your face, the water sparkling like a thousand turquoise jewels. You experience a sense of true freedom, as you choose where to sail and when, docking in little-visited coves, sailing past palm-pricked islands and falling asleep on board to the rhythm of the waves. For a long time though, owning a yacht was regarded as the preserve of the very wealthy, zapping time, energy and, above all, money. But that no longer has to be the case. With The Moorings yacht ownership programmes, you get all the benefits of owning a yacht without any of the hassle – and for a fraction of the cost. And better yet, it opens up a whole…

During two weeks travelling South America’s least-heralded overland adventure, I ate Caribbean ‘bates’ and saltfish for breakfast, found African ‘voodoo’ alive and kicking and, in a city named after a hot pepper, enjoyed the cosmopolitan sight of an Indian man and a Chinese man playing the extremely French game of boules. One thing I didn’t do, however, was utter a single word of Spanish, or even Portuguese for that matter. Blame the European colonialists for the linguistic and cultural idiosyncrasies of the so-called 3Gs – not the mobile-phone signal but Guyana, Suriname (formerly Dutch Guiana) and French Guiana. This trio are some of South America’s smallest nations, carved from the bone-shatteringly hard two-billion-year-old Guiana Shield craton in the far north-eastern Amazon. From Georgetown to Cayenne via Paramaribo, I oscillated between…

Fighting spirit Culloden Moor, Inverness “The roof of the National Trust for Scotland visitor centre is one of the best spots to view the expanse of Culloden Battlefield. Once there, you can imagine Jacobites and Redcoats lining up against each other – and the bloody aftermath.” Andrew Baxter Ride like the wind Aviemore, Cairngorms ”Hire an e-bike in Aviemore, ride up to Loch Morlich, then explore the forest or relax on the beach. It’s downhill from there, so stop pedalling and just fly back down.” Lesley Elding Fuel for thought The Highlands “For peace of mind, travel with an extra can of petrol. When driving across the remote Highlands, it might be worth going out of your way to see some deserted beach, but doing so will take up more…

“I’d sneakily go and listen to the guides talk, learning what I could” I used to follow guides around. At school in Cambodia, I always liked to read about history. After finishing my studies, I moved to Siem Reap, where I worked in a restaurant – but I was fascinated by the temples of Angkor. So, after my job finished, I’d go and listen to the guides talk, lingering behind them, sneakily, learning what I could. Then, when the guests left, I’d ask them questions about how it was built. Curiosity is a big part of this job. It was Angkor’s big stones that fascinated me – just how did they lift them into place? In the stories they said the temples were built by magic, but I didn’t believe…

So, what are ‘white nights’? St Petersburg’s white nights don’t arrive in shining armour. They come in summer, when it never gets fully dark in this part of Russia. While not technically being the ‘midnight sun’ (the city lies below the Arctic Circle), this season brings an eternal twilight the Russians call belye nochi, and for weeks the city is red-eyed and giddy. How long does it last? The white nights begin in late May and continue until July, peaking in June when the sun is fully visible all night. But there’s much more to it than just bright evenings… Ooh, what else happens? Since 1992, St Petersburg has held White Nights – the arts festival that never sleeps. It kicks off in May with divas and ballerinas gracing the…

It’s not always easy to stay out of trouble. Every country has its own rules – some stricter than others. So, whether packing meds or just holding hands, know the law… There are lots of ways to fall foul of the law abroad – especially if booze is involved. Public drinking is not accepted in most Islamic cultures; many parts of the Middle East only serve alcohol in stadia or hotels, and drinking in the street (or being intoxicated) in Oman or Qatar can actually get you fined or arrested. The same goes for public displays of affection. Visitors to the UAE, for example, often comment on seeing men holding hands in ‘kinship’, but couples doing the same will fall under scrutiny – and should avoid escalating their affections. Carrying…