Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian take a spin down memory lane, from California’s Redwoods to Nepal via the mean streets of south London
Continue reading...Category Archives: Travel
Airplane debris narrowly misses Broomfield home after midair engine fire – video
A United Airlines plan rained debris on Denver suburbs, narrowly missing a home, after suffering catastrophic engine failure shortly after takeoff on Saturday. The Boeing 777-200 returned to the airport in an emergency landing.
United said there were no reported injuries on Flight 328 from Denver International airport to Honolulu, which had 231 passengers and 10 crew on board
Continue reading...Kate Mosse: My journey of discovery in medieval Amsterdam
While researching her latest novel the author spent weeks walking the canals and streets, and unearthing the Old Town’s hidden history
February and it’s not yet quite spring in Amsterdam. Soon, the buds in the rose garden in Vondelpark will start to blush pink and yellow; the leaves on the trees surrounding the lake will begin to shimmer with silver and green. Soon, at least in a normal year, people will gather again at the bandstand and the Blauwe Theehuis, the blue teahouse, in this elegant 19th-century park named after the poet Joost van den Vondel, and the diagonal paths that cross the museum quarter between the Rijksmuseum and the Concertgebouw – once a region of small farms and market gardens – will be filled with conversation and bicycles again.
But our focus lies not in the 19th-century city – nor the 20th century with the Anne Frank House beside the Westerkerk – but rather in the old medieval centre of Amsterdam. I should be there now, conducting a walking tour for English and Dutch readers around the canals and overlooked alleyways that inspired my latest adventure novel, The City of Tears. I should be explaining how, in the bloody aftermath of the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in Paris in August 1572, my imaginary first family, the Jouberts, flee persecution to the city of tears itself, Amsterdam, to build a new life for themselves.
Continue reading...Australia’s international travel ban and arrivals cap investigated by audit office
Australian National Audit Office launches inquiry into pandemic border policies, including biosecurity and the adequacy of assistance to those stranded overseas
Australia’s international border policies including the outbound travel ban and inbound arrival caps will be examined by the Australian National Audit Office.
After first proposing the audit in September, the ANAO quietly activated the inquiry in mid-January and has called for submissions on the management of the Australian border to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Continue reading...10 songs that bring back memories of my travels: Tom Ravenscroft’s playlist
From Sheffield to Tokyo via New York and rural France, the DJ recalls his adventures with friends and family – and the music that accompanied them
We didn’t travel as kids, partly because my dad hated flying and also because it was festival season and his job meant our summer holidays were spent being dragged off to muddy fields. It sounds like I’m complaining. I am a bit. This was long before it was commonplace to see kids at festival: we got cold, and drunk people pointed at us. On the odd occasion we went on “holiday”, we were squashed into a car and driven around Europe with seemingly no real destination. We once drove all the way to Germany to see where our lawnmower was made. The only joy in these journeys were the mixtapes my dad would spend weeks painstakingly preparing for the journey. A few records for the kids and lots for him. Lonnie Donegan was one of the few tracks on there we all loved. Many years later we got to see him play the Glastonbury festival. I stood in awe. He did a weird amount of encores, double figures.
Continue reading...UK Covid live: No 10 says MPs won’t vote on 10-year sentences for travel ban cheats because law already in place
Latest updates: PM says people will have to ‘get used to the idea of vaccinating, and then re-vaccinating in the autumn’
- Too soon to book holiday in UK or abroad, says Grant Shapps
- Covid border rules not in ‘top bracket’ of nations, says Starmer
- Threat of jail term for UK travellers who hide journeys ‘disproportionate’
- UK government announces £3.5bn fund to fix cladding on high-rises
- Global coronavirus updates – live
The latest edition of the Guardian’s Politics Weekly podcast is out. Jessica Elgot and John Crace look at why the latest coronavirus travel restrictions might not work the way the government expects, as well as Robert Jenrick’s latest announcement on cladding funds. Plus, Helen Davidson and Jon Henley on how the world sees the UK’s Covid response.
Related: Hotel quarantine – too little too late? Politics Weekly podcast
As HuffPost’s Paul Waugh reports, at the lobby briefing the prime minister’s spokesman had difficulty justifying some of the work done by the three taxpayer-funded photographers now working from Downing Street.
Asked why the taxpayer should fund ‘vanity’ photographers who took these pix of the PM’s dog playing in the snow, No.10 spokesperson suggests Dilyn works for govt: “These photographers document the work of the government, as well as the work inside Number 10.” pic.twitter.com/UgdDF2Tdrp
Continue reading...When will Britain’s Covid lockdown be lifted? Three scenarios
At best, vaccines and lockdown could make life more normal by May. But at worst, a new mutation could undo any progress
Hopes are rising that Britain may soon put the worst of Covid-19 behind it. After a year in which the disease has paralysed the nation, killed more than 100,000 people, closed schools and universities, and brought the NHS to its knees, there are now signs of hope emerging.
Most optimism stems from Britain’s vaccination programme, which has resulted in the inoculation of more than 10 million people in the past two months alone, and which aims to have vaccinated the entire adult population later this year.
Continue reading...Life in hotel quarantine: ‘I’m on day two. It’s around day 11 things get difficult’
Ian Samson, originally from Edinburgh, describes his experience of Hong Kong’s strict isolation rules for travellers
I have a pile of 20 bananas in my hotel room here in Hong Kong, a spin bike I’ve had delivered and some rapidly dying flowers that the hotel gave me on the first day as a morbid reminder of how little sunlight I would be getting for the next 21 days.
Continue reading...Summer holidays cancelled? UK faces big decision on border
Stricter controls appear likely, with government’s approach in stark contrast to that during first Covid wave
Slumped on the sofa after another day of home schooling, many families will have longingly eyed adverts for getaways: sun, sandy beaches and glittering pools, a much-needed reward after a year in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic.
But ministers are becoming increasingly concerned they may have to ask the British public to sacrifice their hopes of a break abroad this summer. On Thursday, Priti Patel became the latest cabinet minister to say it was too soon to book an overseas break; Matt Hancock has already announced he is going to Cornwall.
Continue reading...10 inspiring hobbies taken up by readers during lockdown
Using Shakespeare plays, mum’s cooking and even Lego as inspiration, our tipsters – and their kids – have discovered ingenious ways not just of de-stressing, but of feeling more alive
This is about my autistic daughter’s hobby. She’s nine, and since last March has become an avid birdspotter and photographer. It’s been great to be outside finding nature in the city, and to see her thrive and grow, walking to and exploring local parks. She’s now got an amazing mentor – wildlife artist and photographer Alfie Bowen – and has been winning competitions and had her photos published. She told me: “2020 was the best year ever … less stress because of less school, and I could be the person I am meant to be.” What more could a parent ask for?
Emma
The joy of steps: 20 ways to give purpose to your daily walk
Has the novelty of a prescribed stroll long since worn off? From tracking animals to uncovering hidden history, here’s how to discover a new world in your neighbourhood
The weather is rubbish, there is nowhere to go and, bereft of the joys of spring, the daily lockdown walk can feel pointless. But, of course, it is not: the mental and physical health perks of exercise are immune to seasonal changes. We need to gallivant around outside in daylight so that our circadian rhythms can regulate sleep and alertness. (Yes, even when the sky is resolutely leaden, it is still technically daylight.) Walking warms you up, too; when you get back indoors, it will feel positively tropical.
But if meeting these basic needs isn’t enough to enthuse you, there are myriad ways to add purpose to your stride and draw your attention to the underappreciated joys of winter walking.
Continue reading...Festivals, holidays, Euro 2020… will summer’s big events still go ahead?
Burgeoning hopes for a normal sporting and cultural calendar are now in question again as infections increase
As Covid-19 cases rise across the world, hopes that life could get back to some semblance of normality by summer are fading. What chance do we have of going to a festival, flying off for a holiday or attending a major sporting event?
Continue reading...‘We cannot take chances’ with South African Covid variant, says Grant Shapps – video
The transport secretary said fears that vaccines would not work against the new South African coronavirus strain prompted the introduction of testing for new arrivals into England and Scotland. 'There are concerns ... about how effective the vaccine would be against it, so we simply cannot take chances,' Shapps said
- Fears Covid vaccines would not work against South Africa variant led to travel curbs
- UK coronavirus live
21 things to look forward to in 2021 – from meteor showers to the Olympics
From finally seeing the back of Donald Trump to being in a football stadium – the new year is full of promise
You probably found a few things to enjoy about last year: you rediscovered your bicycle, perhaps, or your family, or even both, and learned to love trees. And don’t forget the clapping. Plus some brilliant scientists figured out how to make a safe and effective vaccine for a brand new virus in record time.
Continue reading...Multiple European countries ban travel from UK over new Covid strain
WHO tells members to redouble efforts to stop spread as Israel turns away UK passport holders
European countries have begun to close their doors to travellers from the UK after the discovery of a fast-spreading strain of Covid-19 in England.
As the World Health Organization called on its members in Europe to step up measures, countries including France, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands announced bans on travel from the UK.
Continue reading...UK’s ‘test to release’ Covid scheme for travellers gets off to chaotic start
Most private providers are unable to offer the service, which should have cut quarantine from to 10 days to five
The UK government’s long-awaited test to release scheme, designed to allow travellers to cut quarantine, was embroiled in chaos on its first day of operation after the last-minute publication of 11 private providers, most of whom appeared unable to offer the service on Tuesday morning.
Airports, many of which have had testing centres in place for weeks or months, were perplexed at being left off the Department for Transport’s approved list, as they reported a surge in bookings in the run-up to the festive season.
Continue reading...This year, for the first time, I won’t go home for Christmas. Will my family ties loosen for good?
Flying visits to Northern Ireland kept me connected. FaceTime, Zoom and my niece’s drawings arriving by post are no substitute
I have never missed Christmas at home, though I have lived elsewhere for more than 20 years. This year, I will break that run. The festive travel window means that I could fly back to Northern Ireland from London. But my father is elderly and our neighbourhood on the border has been relatively untouched by Covid-19 until recently, so it doesn’t feel the safest plan. Instead, I’ll be in London. It will mark a year since I’ve been home; the longest I’ve ever been away.
With a flight time of under an hour, on a ticket often cheaper than a night out, I normally go home many times a year. It means I never have to miss a big night out; if it’s an emergency, I can be back in a matter of hours. Being home often feels crucial to my sense of self.
Continue reading...Singapore ‘cruise to nowhere’ ends after passenger tests positive for Covid-19
The post-pandemic test voyage is open only to city-state residents but 2,000 passengers were confined to their cabins after one contracted the virus
A passenger on board a “cruise-to-nowhere” from Singapore has tested positive for Covid-19, the operator Royal Caribbean said on Wednesday.
Singapore has been trialling the trips which are open only to the city-state’s residents, make no stops and sail in waters close by. At 2.45 am on Wednesday morning, the captain of the Quantum of the Seas informed the 2,000 passengers that the ship was to return to dock a day early and that they should stay in their rooms, the Straits Times reports.
At 8.10 the captain confirmed that a passenger had tested positive. Breakfast would be served to passengers in their rooms, he said.
Continue reading...My journey around India in 80 trains
Monisha Rajesh had a complex relationship with her parents’ homeland, until she saw all of Indian life played out on the country’s railway
Six-people deep, and growing by the second, the crowd tensed. A single knuckle pressed into my back and betel-nut breath filled my nostrils as a steady beat rose above the din. Against the peach pink of Mumbai’s evening skies, the commuter service curled into view, passengers hanging from the sides like moving livery. Braking with a wail and grind of metal, the train slowed into the station and I braced against the surge of bodies from behind. Like relay runners, they began to move before the train had stopped, reaching over my head at the same time as a torrent of polyester shirts and satchels thundered down from the open doorways.
A slice of papaya in one hand my bag gripped with the other, I battled through elbows, meaty shoulders and thick plaits slicked with coconut oil. In the crush the papaya was knocked to the ground and my sandal came off, but I made it on board and fell sideways into a seat as the train jerked away from the platform. Wiping someone else’s sweat from my arm, I watched fellow travellers scrabble for handholds, adjust saris and pull out phones before relaxing into the ride with a mix of relief and pride. I’d survived my first experience on the infamous Mumbai “locals”.
Continue reading...‘Covid created an opportunity’: Lisbon turns 20,000 tourist flats into homes
Initiative offers landlords the option of renting their properties to the city for a minimum of five years
For centuries, the maze of narrow, cobbled streets that make up Lisbon’s Alfama neighbourhood has told the story of the city’s past. But in recent years, as trendy cafes and tourist flats proliferated, the historic quarter began telling a worrying tale of the city’s future.
A rapid transformation had rippled across the city centre as Airbnb-style tourist rentals swelled to a third of the properties. As locals found themselves priced out and communities began hollowing out, many began grumbling about the aftershocks of terramotourism – a tourism earthquake.
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