Get Lost 28

WIN THE ULTIMATE MALAYSIAN HOLIDAY ADVENTURE SEE PAGE 90 FOR DETAILS

ISSUE #28 // $7.95 GST INCLUDED www.getlostmag.com

MADAGASCAR LIFE ON THE HIGHWAY INDIA

In search of a tiger

SCOTLAND

Festival Fringe funnies

SOUTH PACIFIC Back to basics

USA

Rafting Salmon River

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ANDREW MUELLER Dodging bullets JANICE POLLEY Hollywood location scout HOLIDAY IDEAS Costa Rica

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SCOTLAND

SWITZERLAND

Get ready for a lot of laughs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – one of the world’s great comedy events.

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USA

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SOUTH PACIFIC Get back to basics with village homestays in Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. #12 get lost ISSUE #28

Take a hike from village to village on the Haute Route in the Swiss Alps.

INDIA Venture to India’s heartland in search of the rare and elusive Bengal tiger.

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NEW ZEALAND

Hang on tight and be prepared to get wet when whitewater rafting on Idaho’s Salmon River.

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Explore New Zealand’s sensational Marlborough Sounds by kayak.

ICELAND Journey to Iceland’s quirky capital Reykjavik for a spot of sightseeing and lazing about in the Blue Lagoon.

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MADAGASCAR Take a photo trip along Madagascar’s lively national highway, Route 7.

AUSTRALIA Roll up your sleeves and do your bit for Australia’s flatback turtles on a volunteer project in Western Australia.

get in the know In Paris, 21 November 1783, man flew for the first time in a lighter-than-air craft – in the Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier designed balloon.

14 Yo Y ur Let Le te t rrs & Photos Phot 16 News & Views ew ews 20 Places to St S ay 22 Top Five v Tips ve Tr 24 Ev E ents 25 Re Ret etro r Trave av l 26 You Y Wish 92 Holiday Ideas 94 Fo F od 96 Photog ot raphy otog 100 Tavel Tr vel v Job 102 Our Shout 104 Music 106 Ec E o Tavel Tr vel v 108 Rev e iews ev w ws 112 Confessions

28 SCOTLAND Edinburgh Festival Fringe 32 SINGAPORE Singapore after dark 36 SWITZERLAND Hiking the Haute Route 42 INDIA Searching for tigers 54 USA Whitewater rafting in Idaho 60 NEW ZEALAND Kayaking in the Marlborough Sounds 66 ICELAND A trip to Reykjavik 70 SOUTH PACIFIC Back to basics 80 MADAGASCAR Seeing Route 7 86 AUSTRALIA Turtle conservation 92 HOLIDAY IDEAS Two weeks in Costa Rica

get in the know London’s Metropolitan Railway was the world’s first subway. Its first section opened to the public in 1863.

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places to stay

Sextantio le Grotte della Civita

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Matera, Italy

WHAT: This unique series of caves is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was once inhabited by peasants. The hotel was transformed over 10 years using traditional materials and methods. It’s light on frills and furniture, but heavy on candlelight and romance. The honeycoloured cave of Suite 13 has its own balcony, plenty of candlelit alcoves and a fireplace beside the bathtub. Other caves are spacious and ideal for families – you can even bring your pet for free.

WHY: A true heritage homestay. The staff work on conservation projects to preserve the history of the area.

HOW: Doubles from A$160. www.mrandmrssmith.com #20 get lost ISSUE #28

get in the know Mel Gibson’s The Passion Of The Christ wasn’t filmed in Jerusalem, Matera in the Basilicata province of Italy was used instead.

places to stay

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Whitepod

Lapa Rios Ecolodge

Nihiwatu

WHAT: A high-tech eco camp in the stunning Swiss Alps. Spend your days paragliding, dog sledding or skiing virtually empty pistes.

Then gather around a campfire for aperitifs and cheese fondue, before you snuggle up in one of nine ultra-insulated domes.

The pods are lit by lanterns, heated by wood-burning stoves and are hooked up to a private water source to minimise daily water and electricity consumption.

WHAT: Set in a private tropical rainforest reserve, Lapa Rios is so much more than just an eco lodge – it’s an eco-tourism pioneer. There are 16 thatch bungalows (no trees were cut for their construction) all running on renewable resources. Enjoy the cool breeze as you take in the canopy views on your private deck, or laze in a hammock overlooking the wild Pacific Ocean. Hike, whale watch, kayak, surf or visit one of the area’s many sustainable projects.

WHAT: This isolated surf nirvana is Indonesia’s biggest secret. Only three hours from Bali, it has world-class surfing, diving, fishing – everything except the crowds.

The thatched roofed bungalows offer you complete solitude, not to mention balcony vistas of tropical forest, rice terraces and grasslands sweeping around the eye-popping beach. Take a yoga class, mountain bike to remote villages or just chill and soak it up.

Les Cerniers, Switzerland

WHY: Live out your James Bond ski-chase fantasy and end it with a romantic eco interlude. A unique concept that won the Responsible Tourism Award for Innovation.

HOW: A$370 per pod, per night. www.whitepod.com www.unusualhotelsoftheworld.com

Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

Sumba, Indonesia

WHY: A consistent winner of worldwide awards for social and environmental excellence. They don’t just say they’re eco friendly; they practise it.

WHY: The resort is run on bio-fuel, but powered by humanitarian goals.

It co-founded The Sumba Foundation, which is widely recognised for reducing poverty on the island.

HOW: From A$370 per person. www.laparios.com

HOW: Doubles from A$440. www.nihiwatu.com

get in the know There are four official languages in Switzerland: German, French, Italian and Romanch. English is sort of an unofficial fifth language.

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scotland

text: justin jamieson images: vicki jamieson

CHOOSE LAUGH With nearly twelve thousand comedy performances on offer at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Justin Jamieson finds it hard to wipe the smile off his face.

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HERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT Scotland that has always made me smile. Maybe it’s to do with my heritage, or the memories of my father’s Billy Connolly cassettes and the ribald language I struggled to understand (and hear) over the roars of my dad’s laughter.

Whatever it is, as we drive the scenic A68 route through the rolling Scottish countryside into Edinburgh, I’m already grinning from ear to ear.

For a comedy junkie like myself, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (or the Fringe) is somewhat of a holy pilgrimage. From Peter Cook, Dudley Moore and Rowan Atkinson to Hugh Laurie, Arj Barker and Jim Jeffries, the Fringe is a breeding ground for comedians from all over the world. It initially began as an alternative to the first Edinburgh International Festival back in 1947, when a few uninvited

theatre groups put on more risqué shows for the existing crowds. This rebellious streak is still prevalent among the many performances today. The Fringe is where a comedian can really let loose. In fact, there are still no rules for who can perform. There is no jury to appease and performers need no invitation, allowing for more cutting-edge shows.

The epicentre of the Fringe is Edinburgh’s Royal Mile: a cobblestone street winding down from the imposing Edinburgh Castle. With only limited space on the street, buildings were constructed storey upon storey, which produced some of the first high-rises in Europe. It is said that the sewage issues this created gave rise to the term ‘shit-faced’, as those who didn’t get home by the 10pm curfew often found themselves covered in excrement as the occupants emptied

Plenty of comedy to choose from in Edinburgh.

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get in the know The Gilded Balloon devised the ‘So You Think You’re Funny?’ competition in order to discover new comic talent.

get in the know In the 1960s, various members of Monty Python appeared in student productions at the Fringe.

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after dark: Alexis Ong reveals the secrets to a great night out in the city of Singapore. text: alexis ong images: alexis ong

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get in the know More than 40 per cent of Singapore’s population is made up of foreign workers and students.

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INGAPORE HAS ITS FAIR SHARE of hidden nooks and forgotten crannies, but you’ve got to know where to look. Forget all ideas about it being a staid place only suitable for daytime shopping – this city is well worth exploring when the sun goes down.

6.00pm Spend the sunset hour at an oft-overlooked piece of Singapore heritage: Haw Par Villa.

These days it’s mostly deserted, but even in a state of decay it’s one of the weirdest theme parks around thanks to its tackymeets-terrifying scenes from Chinese mythology. Ride through the infamous Ten Courts of Hell and check out some seriously imaginative incarnations of Chinese folklore. Since most of Singapore is hell-bent on better living through modernism, this tumbledown wonderland – not unlike an ancient ruin – offers a pseudoanthropological lens through which to view one of the last bastions of old Singapore.

Haw Par Villa 262 Pasir Panjang Road

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‘Hard to find’ is an understatement, and getting to the Sunset Grill and Pub is only half the adventure. The other half is venturing outside your culinary comfort zone ...

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Diners chill out well into the night around Bali Lane.

‘Hard to find’ is an understatement, and getting to the Sunset Grill and Pub is only half the adventure. The other half is venturing outside your culinary comfort zone with the most brutal buffalo wings in Singapore. The levels of spice range from 1 to 30, although only the first 10 levels are on the menu. Our waiter described level 3 as “whole tongue goes numb”, while level 4 makes “your lips burn off”. We started with levels 2 and 3 and planned to forge ahead depending on how it went. But even my Thai-raised eating companion failed miserably – watery eyes and all. Our ambition to reach level 5 evaporated along with the rest of my tastebuds. These king-sized wings give their American counterparts a run for their money: succulent, tender and deceptively hot, with the kind of slow-burning zing that sneaks up on you when you least expect it. Take a stab at level 30 – victorious diners get their picture taken with a certificate that goes up on the wall.

Reservations are recommended, but you can always make like a local and line up.

Sunset Grill and Pub 140B Piccadilly (old Singapore Flying Club)

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The ‘wall of fame’ at Sunset Grill and Pub.

Infamous Sunset wings – these are just level 3, but don’t be fooled.

It’s Saturday night and people are still riding tandem bikes and rollerblading around East Coast. Things are just starting to liven up along the beachfront and Scruffy Murphy’s is a good place for thirsty travellers to start getting down to the serious business of drinking. Knock back a few beers here to kickstart the liquid half of the night.

Scruffy Murphy’s 1000 East Coast Parkway, B7 Marine Cove (behind McDonald’s) www.scruffymurphys.com.sg

11.00pm Tucked away on one of Little India’s side streets is this relatively new rooftop tapas bar that practically shoves booze at you. The downstairs/indoor seating area doesn’t look like anything special, so we make our way up to the roof for sangria and free tapas. Croquetas stuffed with ham and cheese, tiny burgers and nachos are just a few of the treats available. The tandoori pizzas come highly recommended for those with a more robust late-night appetite.

Zsofi Tapas Bar 68 Dunlop Street www.tapasbar.com.sg get in the know The original Singapore Sling cocktail was reportedly created by a bartender at Raffles Hotel’s Long Bar before 1915.

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Hikers approach the Meidan Pass, the divider between French- and German-speaking Switzerland.

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get in the know The Swiss flag is square because it was originally a battle standard. The only other square national flag belongs to the Vatican City.

switzerland

Flip Byrnes takes some time out and spends a week walking the iconic Haute Route in the Swiss Alps.

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S DARKNESS FALLS, I STAGGER into the refuge of Cabane de Moiry, 200 kilometres from Geneva, wildeyed and adrenaline drained. It’s been a big day since landing in Switzerland from Sydney, involving a face plant in a cow pat, a run-in with an electric fence (note to self, hiking poles conduct electricity), an impromptu snowfall, and a 10 kilometre, 1,617 metre elevation gain hike.

On my first day of the Haute Route I’ve already experienced more adventure than I bargained for, the only element missing in today’s Me vs. Wild was Bear Grylls.

It was always clear this hike would be thrilling. The Haute Route is an infamous seven-day ski tour, or glacier summer tour. The 1800s route linking Chamonix and Zermatt, from Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn, is as iconic as the towns and mountains themselves.

get in the know Switzerland is the only landlocked country to have won an America’s Cup.

text: flip byrnes images: flip byrnes

However, unbeknown to many, there is a third trail variation, the 14day Hiker’s Haute Route. Instead of ascending mountain peaks, it dips to ancient villages, rarely nudging 3,000 metres, but featuring some of the most stunning scenery in the Alps.

Having previously covered the French stages of the route on the Tour de Mont Blanc, I start a week into the trail at the sun-laden hamlet of La Sage in Switzerland.

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Luke Wright ventures into India’s heartland to catch a glimpse of the rare and endangered Bengal tiger. text: luke wright images: luke wright

An early morning safari in Bandhavgarh National Park.

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get in the know The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest of the four ‘big cats’ in the genus Panthera.

india

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FTER RATTLING ABOUT IN THE back of a glorified ute for 16 hours or so, I’m beginning to seriously doubt Mr Rudyard Kipling. And it’s not the first time the Nobel laureate has let me down. His celebrated work Mandalay – a poem about the old Burmese capital that evokes images of an exotic city with sunshine, palm trees and ‘tinkly temple-bells’ – was a big part of the reason I travelled there a few years back. When I arrived, I soon discovered that there’s a big gap between Kipling’s rendering of Mandalay and the loud, sprawling metropolis that exists in its place. I probably should have quit consulting the writer for travel advice there and then, but I felt I should give him another chance.

So, once again on Kipling’s trail, I’m in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh – the wild setting for his celebrated work The Jungle Book. While I’m not holding out too much hope for finding Mowgli taking Rikki-Tikki for a morning jaunt through the jungle, I am very keen on an encounter with Shere Khan: Kipling’s Tiger King, the Bengal tiger. Madhya Pradesh is a stronghold for these endangered animals and I’m here to witness one in the wild.

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up and down hills, in and out of valleys, across grasslands, through sal forests, and wherever else our enthusiastic naturalist (nature guide) thinks an elusive tiger might be found. However, it seems good fortune plays a bigger role here than any particular tiger-tracking skills.

“Shhh!” says the naturalist, “We again listen for warning call in jungle.”

Though we have no idea what a warning call sounds like, we all eagerly do what he says. Again, nothing happens. For the next couple of days things play out in much the same way – lots of hopeful scouting, but Shere Khan is a no-show.

My disappointment with Kipling is becoming palpable. I’ve travelled too far to not see a tiger.

The Bengal tiger has been a symbol of India for millennia. Its blend of elegance, power and agility has earned the tiger its pride of place as the national animal of this vast country. Unfortunately, the tiger’s iconic status has never been enough to ensure its survival. Habitat loss, game hunting, illegal poaching for their bones and hides, and gun-toting farmers attempting to protect their families and herds have all contributed to the tiger’s steady demise. While exact

Its blend of elegance, power and agility has earned the tiger its pride of place as the national animal of this vast country.

The glorified ute is an open-sided safari vehicle, which, when not hurtling through the jungle on a rutted bush track, is actually very comfortable and stylish. We’ve been in search of a tiger for the best part of two days and we haven’t seen so much as a tail. The ‘search’ involves a bouncy and occasionally kidney-jarring ride through the magnificent Bandhavgarh National Park:

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population numbers vary, and there’s debate about how best to survey them, it is estimated that there are just 3,200 remaining in the wild. Some say it’s half that. Although the Indian Government has had tiger conservation projects in place since the 1970s, their numbers continue to dwindle. These might be the last hours for these incredible creatures.

A sign in Bandhavgarh National Park.

get in the know Tigers can weigh up to 300 kilograms.

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text: chad case images: chad case

Chad Case holds on tight as he rafts the Middle Fork of Idaho’s Salmon River.

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A paddleboat full of happy faces launches off a wave in a Class III named Upper Cliffside Rapid.

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UR GUIDE BROOK CHANTED out the “All-forward!” command from the back of the raft. The adrenaline started to surge through my muscles as I leaned forward and plunged my paddle into the frothy white water and pulled in unison with the other five people in the raft. In seconds we would drop into Tappan Falls, a Class III rapid, and just one of over 100 rapids along the Middle Fork of the Salmon River.

As the raft launched off the edge of the falls I couldn’t help hollering “WOO HOO!” as my body became weightless for a moment before our raft dove into the bottom of the wave. The white water rushed over the bow of the boat engulfing my body, and the cool refreshing water quickened my senses.

Again I heard Brook commanding from the back of the raft, “All-forward!”, as I

tried to keep my paddle in the undulating churn around us and focused on getting through the rest of the rapid while containing my ear-to-ear smile.

Idaho’s Middle Fork of the Salmon River has to be one of the best smile producers on the planet. This 100-milelong stretch of river snakes through the largest wilderness area in the lower 48 states, its fame second to only the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon.

Starting at nearly 1,800 metres elevation and descending through the rugged and remote Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area that spans 2.3 million acres, the river navigates a continuous variety of eye-popping landscapes.

Densely forested mountains with spruce and fir trees open up to wide valley views with huge, towering ponderosa pines, and then the river disappears into the chasm of the Impassable Canyon with granite

get in the know The average high water flow on the Salmon River is 455 cubic meters per second, equivalent of 16,000 basketballs passing per second.

usa

cliffs towering hundreds of metres upward into the Big Horn Mountains.

I started this adventure in Stanley, Idaho, where the year-round population is 100 people. Considering the record low temperature during winter in Stanley is -34ºC, I would say 100 people is a considerable population. I met our lead guide Jimmy, a stout, well-tanned, young chap, short in stature but tall in character.

Jimmy gave us an overview of our next six days and handed each of us one large dry bag to carry all the personal gear we would need: tents, sleeping bags, pillows, sleeping pads, food and drink. We were embarking on 167 kilometres of river through the middle of remote wilderness, making safety paramount, as Jimmy impressed upon us. A life jacket is called a personal flotation device, or PFD, and we were informed that the jacket alone would not save our life so we all listened

intently as he enlightened us on things like river rescue position, how to grab a throw bag while in the water and how to pull someone back in the raft.

After the group meeting and a glass of wine I walked across town (185 metres)

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It was restaurant/bar/stage that looked like it was one addition of rough cut timber upon another. The local band had two members sporting river scandals and T-shirts and two wearing cowboy boots and button down shirts. We

As the raft launched off the edge of the falls I couldn’t help hollering ‘‘WOO HOO!’’ as my body became weightless for a moment before our raft dove into the bottom of the wave. with the guides and a lady from Germany who was kayaking the river with us. We strolled off the main road and onto the dirt lanes that crisscrossed downtown Stanley. We stepped up onto an Old West wood boardwalk and into a popular watering hole called the Casino Club.

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sauntered to the bar and sipped some beers while enjoying rockabilly music and one last night in the metropolis of Stanley before we ventured into the wilderness the next day.

The next morning we launched amid a small crowd of rafters at Boundary

get in the know Wild Atlantic salmon are endangered, and therefore illegal to catch. So all Atlantic salmon sold in the USA is farm-raised.

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get in the know The first kayaks, invented by indigenous Arctic people, were constructed of seal or other animal skins stretched over a driftwood or whalebone frame.

new zealand

text: mark banham images: mark banham

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Mark Banham goes with the flow by kayak in New Zealand’s Marlborough Sounds.

Louise stretches her legs at Tawhitinui Bay.

get in the know More than 20 per cent of New Zealand’s population were born in another country.

OU SHOULD TREAT MOTHER Nature with respect. Why? Because she’s not a benevolent old lady in a white robe like most people think; she’s a feisty Maori chick with eyes of fire, greenstone teeth and wild kelpie dreadlocks, and she has a tendency to fly off the handle every now and then.

When Louise and I arrived in New Zealand’s Marlborough Sounds three days ago, Papatuanuku, or Earth Mother, as the Maori know her, had just finished having a bit of a black dog day. She’d lashed the hillsides with thirty centimetres of rain in six hours and stirred things up with a seventy-knot wind. Trees were down, roads and tracks were washed out and bridges were demolished.

But to tell you the truth, it wasn’t a big worry; you see, Papatuanuku has a soft spot for us kayakers. We don’t leave footprints, in fact we don’t even need a trail. We travel quietly, leaving the gulls above and kahawai below alone, and once we’re on the water we’re entirely metabolically powered – we do not use so much as a drop of oil for our adventures. We’re good to her and she looks after us in return.

The locals described Tuesday’s tempest as a one-in-twenty-five-year storm, but for nature (and kayakers) it’s back to business as usual. Today the place is as beautiful as ever: lush, fern-fringed temperate rainforest, alive with bellbird calls and the gentle hiss of waterfalls running into the emerald waters of this labyrinth of inlets.

Cormorants, gannets, penguins and fur seals are our constant companions; all busily chasing schools of baitfish and largely oblivious to our presence.

It’s really no surprise that in years gone by the area was a favourite hunting ground for the local Maori tribes. The abundance of wildlife must have been a cornucopia for them.

Like many travellers these days, I’m a compulsive planner. Most trips like this are organised down to the minutiae. I’d usually have estimated the number of chocolate squares required per person per day, and the expected distance per day in optimal and sub-optimal conditions. But for this trip, we decided to literally go with the flow, letting the winds and tides dictate our itinerary.

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iceland

REYKJAVIK THE CAPITAL OF COOL Christopher Beanland dives into Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, a city regularly voted one of the greenest on the planet.

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E’RE BOMBING ACROSS A rocky, jet black plateau that looks like the kind of otherworldly place NASA would explore with a wheeled robot. “Do you want to know something about this road?” our guide asks us with a sly wink. “It’s a new road – but there was a problem. It passed through elf territory. So when the government built it they left gold as compensation to the elves. The gold was eventually taken away. It must have been the elves – who else would take it?

At least that’s the story I was told!”

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My girlfriend and I are in Iceland for a bit of quiet away from the urban crush of London. We’ve been told that this is one of the cleanest and greenest destinations worldwide. I wonder if we’ll see a clean-living elf recycling his rubbish by the side of the road.

I chuckle at the guide and turn to look out of the window at the bright northern sun rising over this scruffy lunar landscape just outside Reykjavik – it’s the very first glimpse of Iceland visitors get as their plane lands at Keflavik International Airport.

text: christopher beanland images: various

We’re crossing the volcanic black Reykjanesskagi Peninsula at the south-western tip of Iceland to immerse ourselves in the country’s most famous tourist attraction.

The fact that a country’s most famous tourist attraction is a bubbling cauldron of geothermal energy says a lot about modern Iceland. This is a place where, the occasional aluminium smelter notwithstanding, the environment really matters. The natural world is literally the heart and soul of the island. The Icelanders realised long before green issues became fashionable in the 1990s that it was essential to protect their land to ensure their very survival. Now they use it in their tourism marketing too.

get in the know In 2010 Iceland banned all strip clubs.

Reykjavik’s houses are painted in bright reds, blues and yellows like an Arctic toy town.

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The Icelanders realised long before green issues became fashionable in the 1990s that it was essential to protect their land to ensure their very survival.

Hot springs where the water is hotter than your bath at home.

We screech into the empty car park of this volcanic Disneyland – the Blue Lagoon. It’s early and we’re the first tour bus in town. Lately, Iceland’s tourism has been promoting this isolated country at the very tip of Europe as a green utopia. They’ve whipped up sleek TV adverts showing hot Scandinavian couples paddling in bubbling geothermal pools; all of it backed by a stirring soundtrack of Sigur Rós – but more on the island’s music scene later.

Kitted out with trunks and towel, I strip off and wash myself down – getting into a pool in Iceland while dirty is like farting at the dinner table.

You’ll be castigated for it. Cleaned up, I brave the icy wind blowing across the alfresco complex and make a dash for the hot spa pool. I wade in and feel the warm water cover me like a blanket.

The Blue Lagoon is not like anywhere I’ve been before. You won’t forget the blue-tinted, mineral-rich water heated to 40ºC by the earth’s magma, the steam clouds rising from the pools, the chilly

get in the know Reykjavik is the most northern capital city in the world.

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breeze and the modern wooden pavilion where tourists buy souvenirs, eat lunch and get changed.

My girlfriend rubs the famous silica mud onto my face and I wonder how many visits it will take to transform me into a more handsome human specimen, like the macho inhabitants of the island, who all seem descended from muscular Vikings.

The Blue Lagoon, though thrilling, is in some ways a ruse – the water is essentially the excess outfall from the Svartsengi Power Station next door. But that’s Iceland for you; they make the best of what they’ve got. In much the same way that they ferment dead shark and then sell it to tourists as a delicacy called hakari – despite US superchef Anthony Bourdain saying it was the worst thing he’d ever tasted.

Geothermal power, though, is a green Icelandic trump card. The power station, which slips from view as we head back towards the centre of Reykjavik, is one of five that power a quarter of the kettles in the entire country and provide almost all the house heating, plus hot water ISSUE #28 get lost #67

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Discover the best bars the world has to offer.

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Tisa’s Barefoot Bar

Temple

Floyd’s Pelican Bar

Founded with two cases of beer, 50 bucks and made completely of collections from the sea and recyclable materials, Tisa’s is something of a Pacific icon. The open-air shack and sand floor exude desert-island castaway charm.

It’s decorated with flags and dotted with pictures and messages from travellers who have become more like adopted family. Tuck into traditionally roasted pig with your fingers off a setting of palm fronds, drink from halved coconut shells, and when you’ve had too much get yourself a Samoan tattoo right on the beach. www.tisasbarefootbar.com

At first you’ll notice high ceilings, a state-of-the-art sound system and an Asian inspired decor. But behind the scenes of this glittering ‘edu-tainment’ complex lies a whole swag of innovative business practices. All food and liquid is recycled or composted and the kitchen grease is donated to an organisation for bio-diesel fuel preparation. Other projects in progress include a dancefloor that harnesses energy from the movement of partygoers and investment into urban wind power generation. Dance the night away guilt-free after a hectic day in the city of sin. www.templesf.com

This websiteless, ramshackle gem travels only by word of mouth. A stilted shanty made entirely from driftwood, it’s positioned on a sandbank about one and a half kilometres off the south coast of Jamaica. Give Floyd a call and he’ll send a captain in a wooden boat to pick you up. After a short trip keeping a watchful eye for dolphins, you’ll be greeted by the man himself, loaded with armfuls of succulent lobster and fresh fish. Dangle your legs in the Caribbean waters and warm your skin in the sun, as you wash down your meal with ice-cold beer in this back-to-basics beauty.

Facebook – Floyd’s Pelican Bar Jamaica

Pago Pago, American Samoa

540 Howard Street, San Francisco, USA

Parottee Bay, Jamaica

image: mark kuhne www.kuhnegallery.com

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get in the know The USA is the number one trash-producing country in the world at 729.83 kilograms per person, per year.

o sho our hou ho out ut

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Grumpy’s Green 125 Smith Street, Melbourne, Australia

‘Eat, drink and save the world’ is the motto of this local bohemian gem.

Grumpy’s not only uses compost bins, waterless urinals and green cleaning products, but it also donates a percentage of every drink to an environmental cause. Settle into one of the second-hand couches or head out back to the garden tables and enjoy the acoustic melodies of Melbourne’s most talented. Enjoy an organic vegetarian treat, and rest assured, as you sip your locally sourced microbrewery beer or wine (check the list for how many kilometres each bottle has travelled) that the only footprints you will leave are those on your way home. www.grumpysgreen.com

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Doblo Wine Bar

Dob utca 20, Budapest, Hungary This elegant brick wine cellar is hailed as the most eco-friendly bar in Budapest. Every piece of furniture is rescued or restored – from wooden tabletops to light fixtures and chairs – and glass bottles are collected daily for recycling. Insulation keeps it cosy in winter, and like any cellar, it stays cool in summer so there’s no need for energy-eating air-con or heavy ventilation (smoking is banned). Whet your palette on one of the regular wine tasting evenings, or kick back under the dim glow of the chandeliers and tuck into crusty bread, local cheeses and topnotch organic wine. www.budapestwine.com get in the know In 1994, Jamaica was the first country in the Caribbean to launch a website: www.jamaicatravel.com.

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D N A E B I R C S SUB

WIN

A 10-DAY ADVENTURE FOR TWO PEOPLE THROUGH THE WONDERS OF MALAYSIA

TREK LUSH JUNGLES, RELAX ON WHITESAND BEACHES, GET UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH ORANGUTANS AND PROBOSCIS MONKEYS, SHOP TILL YOU DROP OR LIVE THE NIGHT UP, AND MANY MORE AMAZING ADVENTURES. ALL FLIGHTS ARE COURTESY OF AIRASIA, WITH THANKS TO TOURISM MALAYSIA AND SABAH TOURISM.

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