Our latest travel writing: in print and online

When I updated you yesterday on our latest writing in print and online, I forgot to mention one new piece you might enjoy, especially those gourmet travellers out there who take your food seriously. Have a read of my partner Terry's article 'Perfect Balance' in Gulf Life, Gulf Air's in-flight magazine. The story is based on an interview we did with Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten during the opening of Jean-Georges' new Spice Market restaurant and Istanbul's W hotel. Terry also took the gorgeous photos. You may remember me telling you about our trip to Istanbul for the opening of the W hotel. It was a hectic few days of interviews and shoots, which, as exhausting as they were, reaffirmed our love for this work - how many jobs allow you to go to such cool places and meet so many cool people? A few stories resulted from that trip, including a review of the W hotel for Jazeera Airline's J Mag. Now, it's not often I post happy snaps on Cool Travel Guide, but I couldn't resist popping up this pic of Terry with Jean-Georges. We meet a lot of chefs - during this last trip to Italy, we got to interview a constellation of Michelin-starred chefs, shoot their dishes and eat their food - and we find chefs to be fascinating people. The best chefs are thoughtful, philosophical and passionate about food, travel and culture. Jean-Georges was all of those things, but he was also an endearing, down-to-earth and considerate guy. He also has his own blog. Very cool indeed.

Our latest travel writing: in print and online

The June-July issue of Jazeera Airways' J magazine features a few of our articles and Terry's fab photography. If you're not flying with the funky no-frills airline this month (or next), then you can read the stories online, although we love the layout and design of the printed magazines more. Check out Cyprus: Beyond the Beach, our guide to the top ten off-the-beaten-track things to see and do on the island (along with my update of the Cyprus destination guide); The Empire Strikes Back, about Istanbul's hip t-shirt brand Ottoman Empire (we did an interview with the lovely Ayse Bali, one of the owners, to be published in various forms in the future, which I'll keep you posted on); and Room with a View: the W Istanbul, which we quite literally wrote in our hotel room there just hours before the glam opening party I told you about. (Terry should have got a credit for writing that story too actually, but somehow his name got left off... these things happen occasionally unfortunately.) The May issue of Gulf Marketing Review featured a Tourism Sector Analysis (sounds dull I know, but it was fascinating. Really.) with my piece 'Low Cost Hospitality Comes to the Gulf', on the explosion of budget and "limited-service" hotels in the Gulf (sounds dull I know, but I tried to make it fascinating. Really.) If you're lucky enough to stay at a Ritz Carlton hotel next month, look out for a wee little piece from me on Doha's Islamic Art Museum as part of their global summer arts coverage; if you're taking a super-swish Seabourn cruise (the only cruise ships you'd ever get me on) you can read my 'Old Dubai, New Dubai' story in their on-board magazine; and if you're checking in to one of the Radisson-Carlson hotels, you can take a look at my guide to Dubai in Voyageur magazine.

Pictured? Not Cyprus, Istanbul, Doha, or Dubai. Instead, I thought I'd share another image from our recent trip to Calabria. I took this from the belvedere at Scilla, overlooking the castle and old town. Sublime, isn't it?

Or... everything old is new again

While in Istanbul last week I picked up the May special 'Europe' issue of US Travel + Leisure with a feature on "Hidden European Neighbourhoods". The author writes: "Beyoglu is now reclaiming its status as Istanbul's favourite playground". Yet Beyoglu has always been Istanbul's commercial heart and its main pedestrianised street is the city's main shopping boulevard. Beyoglu is hardly "hidden" and it has always had a buzz about it, especially in the evening when it seems the whole of Turkey is out shopping, eating and drinking. The neighbourhoods that have experienced a renaissance in recent years are Tunel, Cukurcuma and Cihangir, considered the coolest by locals and the most interesting to explore for travellers with their cutting-edge boutiques, music stores, vintage clothes shops, antique stores, hip cafes and bars. Take a look at 'Istanbul, the Undiscovered Capital of Cool', which we published in April 2007. I'm in Rome this week, so it's amusing to read that Ponte, Parione and Regola are the eternal city's latest hot spots. These neighbourhoods are a hop, skip and a jump from Piazza Navona and their well-trodden cobblestone streets have always been the focus of tourist activity. While they're lovely, again, they're far from "hidden". Monti is much more fascinating, with its music school, funky boutiques, design stores, and laidback trattorias, while gritty San Lorenzo is the city's bohemian heart. But then the residents of Monti and San Lorenzo would probably argue their 'hoods have always been hip.

One traveller's 'latest discovery' is another's old favorite

Around five years ago the glossy travel mags started talking up Croatia as the next hot destination and travel journos were writing about the country as if it had only just been discovered. The Croatian National Tourism Board saturated the global media with their 'Mediterranean As It Once Was' campaign and everyone bought it. And bought tickets to Zagreb. We spent the summer there in 2003, travelling the length and breadth of the country. What we discovered was something very different to what was being marketed. Dubrovnik was one of the most divine cities we'd ever seen, the islands were beautiful, the myriad walled towns were atmospheric, and the nightlife was wild. However, Croatia was far from untouched. It was easily as crowded with tourists as Paris, Rome or Venice for that matter. Indeed, the Italians had been vacationing in Croatia for many years before it was 'discovered' by the English-speaking travel media. In 2005, Croatia had 10 million visitors. Still, in 2006 National Geographic Adventure magazine voted it destination of the year. It just goes to show that one person's latest, hottest destination is another person's old favorite. Nothing is new to anyone, it's just new again.

10 Places You Must Go in 2008: places I have been

These are the 10 places I think you should experience in 2008, based on places I have been myself, and here are some quick reasons why. I'll give you my own wish list of 'it' destinations for 2008, places I have never been but hope to visit, in the new year.
1. SYRIA: colossal history confronts you at every corner, the world's best archaeological sites, crusader castles, sublime Umayyad Mosque, bustling medieval souqs, the Mid East's tastiest food, beautiful Damascene houses, artisans at work, Euphrates River, Dead Cities, Palmyra, Bosra, and the friendliest people in the world.
2. BUENOS AIRES: because it is as buzzy as they say it is, atmospheric barrios, architectural mishmash of architecture, lively markets and parks, fabulous bars and restaurants, great meat and wine, all-night nightlife, traditional peñas, Feria de Mataderos, gritty backstreets.
3. MOROCCO: do a road trip for moonlike landscapes, sublime desert scenery, abandoned mountain palaces, Berber desert citadels set amid date palm oases, then stay with Maryam in Marrakesh.
4. WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Broome for Australia's best beach and sunsets, Monkey Mia for WA's most tranquil beach and best indigenous walk, spectacular Kimberley & Pilbara regions, Margaret River's wild coast and wonderful wineries.
5. ANTWERP & BRUSSELS: because Antwerp is Europe's most underrated, easygoing city and Brussels isn't boring at all, superb dining scenes, laidback bars, pubs and atmospheric brown cafes, multicultural neighborhoods, lively jazz scenes, excellent museums, cutting-edge fashion, and those fantastic mussels!
6. THAILAND: road trip it off the beaten track, through lush green landscapes of limestone mountains and impenetrable jungle, eat tasty food in small town markets, meet the world's sweetest people, and well, okay, squeeze in a spa treatment at beach resort if you must.
7. ISTANBUL: after the umissable historical sights, the Blue Mosque, Aya Sofia, Grand Bazaar, Topkaki Palace, and whirling dervishes, explore modern Istanbul, its lively backstreets, vibrant restaurants, bars and cafes, and get on the water for a cruise up the Bosphorus.
8. BALTIC CITIES: TALLINN: beautiful walled old city with perfectly preserved pastel-colored medieval architecture, kitsch experience of trying medieval food, sublime contemporary cuisine; RIGA: elegant art nouveau architecture, great walks, pretty parks and squares, lively pubs; and VILNIUS: laidback vibe, beautiful baroque churches, hearty food, and wild nightlife.
9. DUBAI: for reasons most travel writers won't tell you: Emirati and Bedouin culture and heritage, the courtyard wind-tower architecture in the Persian Bastakiya neighbourhood, gritty backstreets, Deira 'Creek' views from Bur Dubai, hospitable people, superb restaurants, and a lively contemporary art scene.
10. OMAN: majestic forts that make you feel like a kid again set in lush date palm oases, the Musandam peninsula, the Arabian Norway, the pretty waterfront at Muscat with its stunning harbour, and laidback Muttrah souq.

Travelling: incongruities #1

One of travel's delights for me is discovering wonderful incongruities. Like this coffee-seller in Aleppo Souq. While there's nothing unusual about finding coffee-sellers in Syrian souqs, they're usually armed with a traditional coffeepot or thermos, tiny ceramic or plastic cups, and a container of fresh water to wash them in. What's so incongruous about this image is that this young entrepreneur is operating a shiny Italian espresso machine. It's somehow misplaced in a souq that's almost medieval. But why should it seem out of context? It's 2007 after all. And maybe it's not so incongruous to you? Perhaps it's only me. Because while I've been to souqs and bazaars all across the Middle East, I can't recall seeing one with an espresso stand. (I'm discounting Istanbul's Grand Bazaar where there are several contemporary cafés under its vaulted ceilings and other modernities all around.) So while this scene makes me smile, perhaps it's not of any interest to you. The guy's coffee is great, by the way.