Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue Eight i JRNY Travel Magazine

HIGHLIGHTS 1. BOURBON, HORSES AND HISTORY Here you will find Louisville, Kentucky’s largest city and home to Churchill Downs, the iconic backdrop of the Kentucky Derby. The city was also home to Muhammad Ali, the legendary boxer and activist. 2. BLUEGRASS, HORSES, BOURBON AND BOONE Visit Lexington and discover the thrill of Horse Country and Equestrian Heritage. If the Bluegrass Region can claim a title other than that of “Horse Capital of the World”, it would be as the centre of Bourbon Country. 3. NORTHERN KENTUCKY RIVER The gateway to the South, where the small-town warmth and hospitality of Northern Kentucky go hand-in-hand with the big-city amenities and attractions of Cincinnati, Ohio. The region is home to CVG International Airport, with direct flights from London Heathrow. 4. KENTUCKY APPALACHIANS Discover…

I first set foot in Peru’s remote Tambopata National Reserve 20 years ago, when I was 23. I’d never been to South America, but had to wanted to check out this wonderfully wild 274,690-hectare chunk of preserved land in southeastern Peru after a relative had visited during a backpacking trip. Things didn’t start well. My luggage went missing somewhere between London and Lima and I missed my flight to Puerto Maldonado, an Amazonian jungle town built on rubber and gold. By the time I clambered into the boat for my three-hour journey upriver to the Tambopata Research Center, I was a nervous wreck. I’d never been somewhere quite so remote, and spent the first night with my torch clamped to my head, only to wonder why I awoke to find…

PAID PARTNERSHIP WITH Destination British Columbia CANADA THE CLASSIC: Along the Trans-Canada Highway • For a quintessential BC road trip, travel via Highway 1 from Vancouver to Hope, through Fraser Canyon to Kamloops and then on to Revelstoke, Golden and beyond. • Some highlights include taking a tour on the Fraser River and enjoying a scenic gondola ride with Hell’s Gate Airtram before arriving in Golden for the Pipe Mountain Coaster. WINDING ROAD: Crowsnest Highway 3 to the Canadian Rockies • For a relaxed trip through the BC winelands, travel along Highway 1 from Vancouver to Hope, then take Highway 3 in southern BC, passing through vineyards, Osoyoos (Canada’s only desert) and charming mountain towns. Extraordinary landscapes, rich history and diverse cultures await travellers around every corner. BIG AND…

The rain was lashing down as I approached the causeway. I could see the droplets bouncing off the hood of the car and it felt as though the howling wind could sweep me into the sea as I crossed. A tropical storm was surging behind me, but as I drove onto Cape Breton Island the rain eased, the wind subsided and a sliver of sunshine seeped through the clouds. The landscape that greeted me on Cape Breton – just off Canada’s Atlantic coast – felt much of a continuation of what I had seen on my 164-mile drive east from Nova Scotia’s capital, Halifax: forests that stretched as far as the eye could see, disrupted only by the occasional brightly coloured barn or pastel-coloured house. I was here in part…

“We believe that many dead return to earth on Thursdays, while they wait in limbo for judgement day,” says cemetery keeper Mohammed Amand in a low voice cracked by a lifetime of smoking. “Those who did good deeds will come back on the holiest day of the week: Friday. Sinners never return though; they are locked in the fires of hell for eternity.” Amand lights a cigarette, adjusts his turban, then leads me by the arm around the city of the dead he has watched over for more than 30 years: the Chaukhandi Tombs – an astonishing miniature Manhattan of sandstone monuments that stretches for over 740 acres on the outskirts of Pakistan’s capital, Karachi. We wander the avenues lined with grand mausoleums, said to total some 4,000. Many are…

Fixing my mask tight to my face, I tumble backwards into the warm Dampier Strait, into the greatest coral system on Earth. The underwater gardens blaze with living colours and form: purple, golden-wheat and green, teased into the shapes of brains, antlers, rose-gypsum crystals and delicate fans. Darting around them are vast shoals of fish: silvery battalions of grey drummers, striped sergeant fish, orange clownfish wriggling through anemones and syringe-profiled pipefish. Thousands of blue-and-yellow fusiliers appear like a technicolour screensaver. On one snorkel, I encounter six hawksbill turtles, more than I’d ever seen during years of subaquatic exploring. What makes Raja Ampat so biologically diverse is its geographical soup of fast-flowing nutrient-packed currents, sea temperatures above 28ºC, and an archipelago of 1,411 coral-limestone islands with shallow ledges and steep drop-offs.…

I keep wanting to tell you that we were deep within the marshes of Pas-de-Calais, which makes it sound like the hours I spent kayaking there were arduous and therefore worthy of admiration. But then I remember that there is no “deep” within the marshes of Pas-de-Calais. The network of canals and rivers in this UNESCO biosphere more closely resembles Manhattan gridlock than it does a dense jungle. Just zoom in on Saint-Omer on Google Maps and watch as the splotch of green north of the town immediately turns into a set of intersecting blue lines. This skeleton of the marshes looks like a city grid surrounded by a suburban neighbourhood, complete with winding blue roads and cul-de-sacs. And that’s precisely what’s so mesmerising and confounding about the Marais Audomarois,…

This feels like a classic Viking scenario. It’s a cold March afternoon and I’m standing on a wind-whipped northern beach, breakers thundering in beneath a menacing sky. In a movie, a line of sails would now be cresting the horizon, triggering cries of terror among the onlookers. Today, the only other onlooker is a distant dog-walker and the only cries are avian: the bubbling of curlews and piping of oystercatchers above the rattle of the wind in the fishing boats. In fact, it’s these birds that have brought me here. I’m in Alnmouth, Northumberland, at the start of a self-guided birdwatching weekend with HF Holidays. My trip notes made no mention of Vikings – seafront parking spaces seemed more of a concern – and it’s been some 1,300 years since…

It is during breakfast that I witness my first kill; plumes of steam rising in caffeinated clouds from my coffee cup as the lions take down a young impala. I don’t even have my camera in hand – only a rather tasty buttermilk rusk. I stop eating and watch, mesmerised, as the young pride begins to feast on their own morning buffet. “The lions are my favourite,” says my guide Frans Eiseb. “I’ve been working in the bush for 15 years, and got promoted to manager five years ago. But I quickly realised life in the office wasn’t for me. It was the lions that brought me back and allowed me to breathe again.” As he finishes his sentence the largest of the lionesses turns and looks at me. They…

While horses, bourbon and bluegrass music are Kentucky’s signatures, the Bluegrass state also offers the finest in dining, arts, entertainment, history and thrilling outdoor adventure to make any visit complete. Kentucky hosts large music festivals as well as food festivals. Worldrenowned chefs and artists live and ply their trade here and Kentucky’s outdoor adventures are spectacular and unforgettable. Experience the taste, sounds and sights of this amazing state and immerse yourself in its rich heritage and diverse culture.…

Rainforest to Rockies is an extraordinary journey along ever-changing landscapes from Vancouver on the Pacific Coast to the Canadian Rockies. Rugged shorelines meet lush rainforests at the edge of sophisticated cities. Fertile valleys shift into arid desert and golden grasslands. Rivers flow from alpine lakes and waterfalls, rushing through steep canyons between towering mountains before meandering their way to the sea. Whichever route you choose to follow, it will be a road trip packed with adventure, where magnificent scenery will have you saying "WOW" around every bend, and highway loops and offshoots are an invitation to find tucked-away places, see wildlife and connect with warm and welcoming locals along the way. THE CLASSIC: Along the Trans-Canada Highway Experience nature touched by and tied to a history going back millennia on…

Like an IKEA model bedroom abandoned to nature, the tree-tent campsite appeared to have every convenience. Hoisted 5ft into the air, its green canvas walls shimmered in the late afternoon sunshine. Inside was a head torch and insect repellent beside a towel, unrolled sleeping bag and down pillow, while yards away an awning kitchen was set with a skillet, cutlery, condiments and basket larder for cooking on an unlit fire. Far from being scaled-back, it was an Instagram shot of rugged Swedish loveliness. In autumn, hikers have the pilgrim trails, pastures and pewter waters of Vättlefjäll Nature Reserve to themselves. Mine was the only rucksack at the campsite and it felt like all of twilight was just for me. Down a rooted path richly scented with pine, the tent vanished…

NEED TO KNOW GETTING THERE Chinggis Khaan International Airport in Ulaanbaatar is Mongolia’s only international airport. Remote northern Mongolia is best reached by car, breaking up the journey at Amerbayasgalant monastery and possibly Murun. Don’t underestimate driving times! BEST TIME TO GO Most people visit in summer, but come at the end of winter to witness the white and blue landscapes of the Ice Festival, which usually takes place the first week of March, marking the timid beginning of spring. FOOD In winter, fresh food is scarce, so expect a meat- and dairy-heavy diet. Local favourites are buuz (meat dumplings) and tsuivan (fried noodles). Tour operators can arrange vegetarian options with advance notice. WHERE TO STAY Traditional Mongolian gers, round nomad dwellings with a wood-burning stove in the centre, are…