Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue Twelve i JRNY Travel Magazine

I write this as the weather here in the UK has turned distinctly – and suddenly – autumnal; there's a chill in the air even on warm days, the vivid green of the trees is beginning to fade into brown, and I think we've already had more rain than the whole summer saw (though this isn't a bad thing, looking at the state of my garden). The change of the weather always makes me extra keen to plan out future travels; if you're like me, you'll find plenty to tempt you in this issue. For our cover story, we visit the South Carolina city of Charleston, where history and culture combine to make it a thriving and vibrant city; these things also influence a visit to the staggering and little-visited…

Mary Jackson runs her hands over a bundle of drying sweet grass. Her swift fingers are adept at sussing out choice strands of the native grass that her husband, Stoney, harvests from Charleston’s salt marshes. Mary, an internationally celebrated basket sewer, knows sweet grass like she knows the back of her strong, skilled hands. Starting from a single knot, she meticulously coils the grasses, tighter than tight, then binds them with a strip from a palmetto leaf. I watch as she works intently, feeding more grass into the coils using the technique she learned from her mother and grandmother, and they learned from theirs. Like much in Charleston, this artistry was passed down from enslaved West Africans’ ancestors who made agricultural rice baskets out of similar indigenous materials 300 years…

THE HEAT MAKES WALKING SLOW AND SWEATY, BUT ALMIGHTY VIEWS OF THIS UNRULY LANDSCAPE ARE AMPLE REWARD As the last light of day hits the western slopes of Piton des Neiges, the crumbly summit of this behemoth volcano takes on the glowing orange of the sunset. The shadow of the mountain – at 10,072ft, the high point of the Indian Ocean – is cast over my shoulder; projected onto the sea of clouds trapped beneath the serrated ridgelines below, blocking off the wild interior of Réunion Island that we’ve spent the last week hiking through. La Réunion is a French department, its closest neighbour being Mauritius, 140 miles west. It’s not a huge place, measuring 39 miles long and 28 miles wide, but, as the local moniker of l'île intense…

From the ancient Greek geographer, Herodotus, to the florid Lord Byron, Egypt’s eternal River Nile, the bringer of life to desert lands, has long exerted an irresistible pull. I’ve travelled widely in Egypt but never before sailed any of the river’s 4,130-mile course. I wanted to feel a continuity that connects the incomparable treasures of fallen civilisations to the current force the river bestows to Egypt’s modern economic life. Before sailing, I reacquaint myself with the river in downtown Cairo, looking down from the 21st floor of my skyscraper hotel on the grey December mist. The Nile is pinched by urbanisation, spanned by bridges and rippled by the vibrations of thunderous calls to prayer. But this changes once I fly to Luxor to begin the voyage south, where the Nile…

The sight of Plas Robin’s three holiday homes, staggered up a hillside, provokes exactly the kind of wows you want from the start of a holiday. From ours, Llety Cariad, which is the largest of the strikingly modern houses, the expansive views take in the surrounding patchworked fields, dappled by the early evening sunlight. Llety Cariad was built with these views at its heart: the open-plan living space opens onto a wraparound balcony that leads to a very private hot tub and sun loungers, while the master bedroom downstairs faces the same way and opens onto the garden, with a patio and pizza oven. The view is constantly distracting; I lose a lot of time watching the way the colours of the landscape shift under the moving clouds and hide-and-seek…

Kaua‘i THE GARDEN ISLE Wild, rugged and impossibly green, this is the oldest of the main islands – and it shows in the sculpted valleys, mist-covered peaks and waterfall-filled cliffs that dominate the landscape. Roads don’t circle the whole island, chickens roam freely and you’ll find echoes of Kauaʻi’s past in sacred heiau (temples), taro fields still farmed by hand, and the tradition of hula and storytelling that gives the island its ancient soul. NĀ PALI COAST Kauaʻi’s showstopper. Towering, fluted cliffs rising straight from the sea, accessible only by foot, kayak, boat or helicopter. If you’re up for it, the 11-mile Kalalau Trail is legendary – a rugged coastal route that winds along the Nā Pali Coast, crossing lush valleys, teetering along narrow ridgelines and ending at secluded Kalalau…

Capturing an image isn’t about luck, expensive gear or being in the ‘right’ place. It’s about observation, patience and intention. Over the years, I’ve judged countless competitions, and while technical excellence matters, it’s the images with a compelling story, strong composition and emotional pull that always stand out. Whether you’re aiming for a spot on a gallery wall or just looking to improve your craft, here’s a practical guide to help you shoot with purpose – and maybe even take home a trophy or two. 1 THINK IN STORIES, NOT SINGLE SHOTS Award-winning photos often say something bigger than what’s immediately visible. They make you feel something. Before you even press the shutter, ask yourself: what’s the story here? Try to capture the emotion, environment, tension or contrast. Sometimes it’s…

The cackle of the magpie geese echoes long after the silhouetted trio fly across the horizon. The sky is now a blood orange, and the reflection of the fireball sun glistens in the stillness of the lagoon. The sleek wetland reeds fringing the water twitch in the occasional soft puff of wind. Nearby, a forest kingfisher – adorned with royal blue wings and a brilliant white belly – silently flitters back and forth between the branches of a melaleuca tree, busily identifying his optimal fishing perch. I sit cross-legged in the red dirt, just watching, while a symphony of tree frogs provides the cyclic soundtrack. I am in Arnhem Land in Australia’s remote Northern Territory – a wilderness of floodplains and bushland spanning over 37,000 square miles. Here, just one…

Though it sits in a classically Parisian 14th-century corner building, complete with window boxes and a streetside awning, the entrance to Le Grand Mazarin is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it one. Which means that arriving feels a bit more like stepping inside a members’ club than entering a hotel. It is, admittedly, a bit of an assault on the senses to wander in here: colour and texture abound. We sit with a glass of champagne before going up to our room and take it all in: muted green walls, animal-print trim and puffy pink and blue stools. I take photos and file them away as inspiration for my impending house move, though both Mum and I agree that this kind of design – which gives the illusion of having just been thrown, beautifully,…

WE’RE INSPECTED UP CLOSE BY CURIOUS UNICORN FISH AND IGNORED BY A STATELY GROUPER WITH A MISERABLE FACE When I was a child and dreamed of whizzing about on a hoverboard, it always seemed so easy. I was master of the skies. Forty years on, I wobble awkwardly on the board for a second or two, wheel my arms in panic and then faceplant into the sea. This is a dream come true wrapped in a belly-flopping wake-up call. I try again. My wife and kids mime drum rolls from the shoreline as I lift shakily into the air, and they erupt in delighted cheers when I topple backwards with an almighty splash. But after a few minutes, against all odds, I begin to tame the water jet surging from…

On a sunny Saturday morning in early September, I sit at a picnic table inside a trapper’s tent near Dawson City, Yukon, learning how to weave willows during an art lesson with Jackie Olson, a Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in artist. A fire crackles in the wood stove and two big dogs pop in and out of the tent on Jackie’s property as she talks about her life and her art, while teaching my friends and me how to weave willows. “Weaving is the fabric of nature,” Jackie says as her hands deftly move the material into an intricate pattern. “It’s my connection to Mother Earth. I’m all about process – not about production. And what I’m learning goes into my art.” Jackie grew up in Dawson City, the granddaughter of Joe and…

At the start of the 1990s, Manchester wasn’t Manchester: it was Madchester, a city where people wore baggy jeans so wide you could sail a ship with them, and swaggering parka-clad men walked like apes and sang in a sneer that could only come from the northwest of England. It was the home of Factory Records, The Haçienda, The Smiths, The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays. It was a rainy city made from cotton, built from red brick with a heartbeat of music in every raindrop. Nostalgia tourism is all the rage this year, with millennials flooding to places they went to as children, fuelling a love of ’90s music, ’90s films and digital cameras. I’m on a mission to see if I can still find the Manchester I remember…

Korean food has taken the world by storm in recent years, elevating fried chicken to a whole new level, bringing us bibimbap (literally meaning mixed rice, with colours inspired by Buddhism), and making kimchi (fermented vegetables with chilli) practically mainstream. Word is that makgeolli, a cloudy, unpasteurised rice wine, is tipped to be the next big thing in the UK. However, buying from street-food vendors in Seoul itself is a different, often daunting, game. Among the many delicious-looking yet unfathomable foods, lurks the downright bizarre (one delicacy is san-nakji, a plate of still wriggling, raw squid tentacles, believed to improve vitality). Seoul’s food will be a highlight of your stay, but it’s wise to get a little local guidance on your way… K-Food History The newly opened Hansik Space E:eum,…

With good reason, Korean culture has entranced the world in recent years, giving us the phenomenon that is K-pop (from when singer Psy’s 'Gangnam Style' went viral in 2012, achieving over 1 billion views on YouTube), and, most recently, the compelling TV series Squid Game, designed to fascinate and shock in equal measures. Foodwise, this is a country that has taken fried chicken to a whole new level and achieved unlikely global fame for kimchi (fermented cabbage); just two exports from a nation where the entire food scene is incredible. But these, of course, are only small dimensions of this ancient land. Although South Korea shares similarities with other Asian countries, there’s a mystery to its culture, making it unique from anywhere else in the region. Escorted tours with InsideAsia…

The canton of the Valais encapsulates the iconic montane features for which Switzerland is famous, while adding a dash of the unexpected – particularly if you visit during the summer or autumn. This dramatic landscape, layered with lush valleys and striking peaks – including the Matterhorn, one of the world’s most recognisable mountains – has all the powder snow, dramatic icescapes and world-class climbing that you would expect. But there is so much more to discover here, too. With an average of 300 days of sunshine per year, the valleys of the Valais feel positively Mediterranean in the summer, with the produce to match – vineyards bursting with grapes, and orchards producing sweet apricots, cherries and pears. This is a landscape that has been – and continues to be –…

The air was heavy with moisture and sounds of the forest, the chirp of hidden birds and the hush of the breeze through banana leaves creating a meditative score. The lush onsen garden at Sensei Lānaʻi feels like it was conjured from a painter’s dream rather than an architect’s pen. At its heart are the thermal-spring-inspired hot tubs, nestled in clearings of ferns and bamboo. Lowering myself into the warm water felt less like bathing and more like dissolving into nature. Sensei’s gardens are not merely landscaped; they’re choreographed. Between sculpture-lined paths and bubbling koi ponds, the resort drifts effortlessly between Zen minimalism and wild Hawaiian abundance. Striking pieces of sculpture are dotted around – like the brown, seated human figures that clutch palm trees, as if rooted to both…

Jacksonville is an unexpected city that doesn’t just surprise you, it sweeps you away. What started as a tiny town cradled in the most northeastern corner of Florida has transformed into a city where metropolitan energy blends with beach-town ease. Its neighbourhoods shift effortlessly from quaint and historical to hip and creative. Its food scene? Completely underrated and overwhelmed with international flavours and chic-yet-casual spots. Outdoors, it's a playground of surf breaks, fishing piers and wooded walking trails; indoors it offers prestigious art museums and galleries, independent shops, local breweries and long-time music venues that make this flourishing coastal city feel like it’s got it all. Big, bold and endlessly worth exploring – this is Jacksonville. BEACHES AND WATERWAYS Jacksonville may be Florida’s largest city by population and land mass,…

★ OVERALL WINNER THE PRIEST (ANDREA PERUZZI) ★ OVERALL RUNNER-UP & LANDSCAPE WINNER TIDE MONEY TREE (ZHANG XU) Qiantang River in Haining City, Zhejiang Province, China. Drone shot over the Qiantang River in winter; the receding tide and withered golden reeds form a vast, tree-like pattern shimmering across the land. ★ RUNNER-UP THE WATERWAYS (PAWEL ZYGMUNT) Langisjor, Iceland. A surreal landscape unfolds with mossy lava fields, turquoise lakes and winding glacial rivers merging in perfect balance. ★ HIGHLY COMMENDED ACROSS THE RIVER (PAWEL ZYGMUNT) Stafafell, Iceland. A lone red car crosses a bridge above Iceland’s glacial rivers, where pale waters weave abstract patterns through dark volcanic sand. ★ COMMENDED 30 SECONDS IN PARADISE (MYO MINN AUNG) Kalaw, Myanmar. Sunrise atop O Si Mountain, as nature reveals its splendour. ★ WINNER RUSH…

“Culturally dead.” This was how arts entrepreneur Jean Blaise, arriving in the 1980s, described Nantes: a western French city crippled by various hardships over the decades, from heavy wartime bombings to the filling of many of its waterways. Not long after Blaise’s arrival, the collapse of its shipbuilding industry saw a further blow for this maritime metropolis on the banks of the Loire. But it was soon to undergo a spectacular transformation… The catalyst? A profusion of free art in public spaces that everyone could enjoy. Little by little, thanks to the direction of Blaise and fellow visionaries, Nantes shed its post-industrial backwater image and became a cultural pioneer. Nowadays, an iconic ‘Green Line’ connects the city’s top landmarks with its myriad artworks, creating a tourist trail like no other:…