Blue remembered mountains

A rare burst of bedroom tidying threw up a hitherto-forgotten diary containing some remarkable travel memories. The tiny notebook chronicled a visit Sheila and I made to Australia in 2002; we were in search of Uncle Bill - once a penniless stowaway from Liverpool, later the travel king of Katoomba. Bill left the Pool in 1912 and slowly made his way to Sydney. From there he discovered the stunningly beautiful Blue Mountains and the little mining town of Katoomba. The little place sat on the edge of vast natural chasm - Australia's own Grand Canyon. Bill was, by family accounts, a young man to see an opportunity and so he bought a bus and started day trip tours from the big city. Bill's bus company helped Katoomba emerge from obscurity and become one of the leading tourist attractions in the country.
The diary reminded me what a journey of discovery that trip had been for us. We made contact with the local museum who for weeks after, sent us what they had on Uncle Bill who rose to become mayor of the town in the 1950s. We found a little street back in the back of beyond that had one special throat-lumping attribute: 'Freelander Street' was named after Uncle Bill Freelander. We also found the location of the one photo we had of old Bill. It was something that Sheila had had in the family for decades: a proud Bill in mayoral robes welcoming the Governor General of Australia, the Duke of Gloucester. They were standing on some staircase of a grand building. It is still there, the Carrington Hotel. The staff were fascinated to hear about our ties with Bill Freelander and that photo of the Duke. Feeling special in a very special place is a pretty special thing. And thanks to the diary, I can feel special all over again.

The World Cup and South Africa - an exercise in overcoming nerves

The World Cup is only 8 months away - and in response, South Africa has invested a massive amount in new stadia, transport infrastructure and communications improvements. All this is great, but the fact remains that the overwhelming international perception of South Africa is that it's generally unsafe, with crime rife and pervasive, and all visitors and locals (read: white) most at risk.

Is this the truth? It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the fact that crime is a major cancer in what is otherwise an incredibly beautiful country - but those who have never been there should be fed a more transparent, qualified and quantified picture. The fact is that crime affects mainly the poor, and in the poorerest areas (read mainly non-white). The city centres are increasingly safer, with higher numbers of police and security staff focused on these urban areas. In fact, I can't think of a time when I felt more safe in central Cape Town than at the beginning of this year (certainly safer than I feel walking around Tottenham or even King's Cross.)

So, if you were thinking of going to South Africa, before, during or after the World Cup, don't let a scaremongering international (and mainly pessimistic local) press put you off. The more people go there, the more the local tourism industry, and growing number of business owners will demand of the national government to tackle the problem. You just need to be sensible about where you are, and who you're with. You wouldn't walk around Moss Side or Tottenham High Street late at night on your own, and it's the same anywhere else.

And believe me, the rewards South Africa and its people offer to tourists far outweigh the perceived risk - it is a beautiful country with the most animated and engaging people.

A taste of Iran

Tonight I watched a great documentary on BBC4 called 'A taste of Iran'. Cheesy title aside, this is a celebratory, personal exploration of his beloved homeland by BBC journalist Sadeq Saba.

Ignoring politics in favour of pomegranates, the documentary follows Sadeq on his journey through the country, delighting in the warm, exhuberant Persian hospitality of the people he meets on the way. Every dish sampled comes with a story, like the Esfahari cuisine prepared by his sister - called 'Moshti' meaning 'handful' and referring to the warmth that is transmitted from your heart to the food as you eat it with your hands. Or the sweet bundles of candyfloss in the stone-baked city of Yazd which comes with a strict instruction to stuff the whole lot in your mouth, not like those foreigners who come and pick at it because they are worried about becoming fat, as the seller laughs disapprovingly.

As the world's media and politicians scrutinise Iran over its nuclear ambitions, it's so refreshing to see a glimpse of ordinary everyday Iranians and their beautiful country. And what better example of the real insight that can be achieved about a place through nothing more complicated than sharing food, conversation and laughs. Those UN inspectors could learn a thing or two...

What is travel for?

Why is tourism so out of date? The world's second biggest industry (after oil and gas) is hung up on the past - a distant past at that. The travel industry believes that there are only two kinds of tourist: those interested in doing everything, and those keen to do nothing. The former, it is believed, want a checklist of all possible cultural checkboxes: the must-see buildings, the unmissable churches, the essential ruins and the compulsory great art works. The latter group of indolent voyagers want nothing more than to lie on a beach and bake their white skins to a crisp. Consult any guide book from Fodor to Rough Guides, or any organised tour and you will see that nothing much has changed in 100 years: monuments or mummification. That is the only choice. The concept that travel as relaxation is an extension of the 'fresh air and fun' notions of escape developed by Thomas Cook in the late 19th century. Travel to 'broaden the mind' "(or as I prefer, deaden the senses) derives from the Grand Tours of the 18th century when young gentlemen toured the ancient monuments of Europe to sharpen their cultural knowledge and show off when they got back home. The travel industry has never really moved on from this narrow view of exploration: cultural knowledge dumping or the sun/sex/sangria paradigm. Is it not time for a 21st century re-configuring of tourism; especially given the contraints of cash and carbon. Let us bring back the true pleasure of travel: discovery. To discover doesn't mean to cram with useless facts, nor is it confined to finding the cheapest booze on the hottest beach. It is, I believe, about people- discovering something about our common humanity, making new friends and getting to know how other people live, what excites them and what they do around here for fun.

Close Encounters: the path to an enlightened travel experience

Hi all, 

To celebrate the launch of the GYOW blog I thought it might be a good idea to start by explaining our ethos. We are a bunch of travelers and writers, for whom the world is a large community, and a place in which the richest experiences are to be found in its people, rather than its buildings and natural sights. This is not to say, of course, that the Taj Mahal, Table Mountain and the Statue of Liberty (and all similar!) are not fantastic to see - but for us, meeting the people who live around these every day - who work, and raise families, and study, and go out, and write shopping lists and do all the things we do in our home locations, is the best way to connect with the countries that host these sights.

What we want to do with our blog, is share our experiences of meeting people, and recount the adventures that ensue as a result. We want to hear your experiences: Who did you meet? Where did it take you? Where were you at the time? What did you learn? And where do we all go from here?

American historian and writer Daniel J. Boorstin once said, "The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience.  The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him.  He goes 'sight-seeing.'" We live in the hope that we are the former, and that you are too - and that together we can encourage others to embrace the pioneer in us!

So, herewith we lay down our challenge - bring us your experiences, or tell us where you're going and what you hope to find!